Lewis Hamilton conceded the 2026 title to Kimi Antonelli and Mercedes after retiring from the Spanish Grand Prix with an early brake issue.
Hamilton's already slim championship hopes were dealt a significant blow when he plummeted down the order from third in the opening laps.
"I've got no brakes, guys," the seven-time world champion told Ferrari after running off track at one point. By lap seven, when he finally dragged the car into the pits to retire from the race, he had dropped to last on the track.
Hamilton's DNF and Antonelli's victory means he is now 101 points behind the man who replaced him at Mercedes last season.
"There's no stopping him and Mercedes this year," Hamilton told Sky Sports F1 shortly after retiring from the race. "They've done a phenomenal job and they deserve it."
Madrid represented Hamilton's first mechanical DNF with Ferrari, and resulted in his first non points-scoring race of the season.
The Briton had made a decent start but quickly encountered issues.
"I hit the brake, the car started stopping, and then the pedal took a step," Hamilton explained. "The car didn't decelerate as fast as it normally, so I ended up carrying a lot of speed in.
"And then, yeah, brushed the barrier, and then after that pedal came back, it was fine, and then I think a few corners later on, the pedal went long. I don't really know what that's all about."
It was a weekend of what might have been for Hamilton. He had been on provisional pole after the first runs in Q3 on Saturday, but was unable to improve on his final run and dropped to fourth on the grid.
Hamilton was speaking to the media while teammate Charles Leclerc was leading the race, albeit having not stopped early on when the rest had.
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Despite Madrid being Ferrari's fourth straight race off the podium, Hamilton tried to keep a positive spin on the weekend.
"I think we have a good [car]," Hamilton said. "We've had a pretty decent car, a good car this weekend and I think we will continue to try and improve it and I think we have better results coming in the future."
