Last Updated on December 23 2023, 12:58 pm
Lewis Hamilton was on the cusp of becoming the most decorated Formula One world champion of all time then came the last lap shootout in Abu Dhabi 2021, where his hopes were crushed as Max Verstappen passed him with seconds left in the race.
Since then Mercedes have failed to deliver a title challenging car for Hamilton who has struggled with the handling of the new ground effect cars introduced in 2022. The British star has now gone more than two years without a race victory something he has never experienced in his seventeen year career in the pinnacle of global motorsport.
Crushing blow for Lewis Hamilton
Hamilton was clearly affected by the Abu Dhabi disaster the following season as new team mate George Russell eclipsed him in the drivers’ championship and won Mercedes’ only Grand Prix of the season in Brazil.
In 2023 Lewis bounced back finishing third in the championship behind the Red Bull driver pair and 59 points ahead of his team mate who had a difficult racing year.
Once described as ‘the King of the one lap’ Hamilton was challenged this year by Russell who clawed back a deficit to level the qualifying stats between the Mercedes pair at 11-11. And with youth on his side a number of F1 commentators have suggested in their post season reviews that George is only going to get stronger which will make it even more difficult for Hamilton to dominate his team mate as he done for most years in his career.
The thorny issue for Lewis now is whether he will ever get the opportunity to win that coveted eighth title given he will be 39 years of age when the cars his the track again in 2024.
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Mercedes having failed to grasp the new 2022 F1 car design regulations head into this winter planning an all new car as they ditch the design concept they have deployed over the past two seasons. As this writer has suggested in previous articles, even were the former world champions to deliver a car equal in performance capabilities to Red Bull, they lack data on how their new platform will react from one race weekend to the next.
James Allison recently confirmed the new Mercedes platform will run the car lower and in a more conventional manner being used by the rest of the F1 field. Yet the last time the team attempted this, it caused vicious bouncing which made it difficult for their drivers to see properly as the cars hurtle along at over 200mph.
Again should Mercedes design a car for 2024 capable of the same performance as Red Bull, its likely it will be difficult to get the setup right each weekend and their season may have moments of brilliance matched equally by weekends where they are nowhere.
Even with a new two year deal under his belt, Hamilton will not be confident he can win the drivers’ championship in 2024, so 2025 may be his best hope.
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Hamilton “plan B”
Martin Brundle now addresses the issue facing Hamilton and for the first time talks about how the British driver will react if he believes another championship winning year is beyond his reach.
“I think if Lewis senses that the eighth title is unachievable in a reasonable time frame, he’ll be thinking of Plan B,” the ex-F1 driver and Sky broadcaster pointed out in his column this week.
Yet interestingly Brundle does not specify what “plan B” is. Could it be retirement, a switch to drive for the iconic Ferrari before he quits or even a move to another top level motor racing category like the WEC.
Another consideration for Hamilton is even were Mercedes to deliver him a car capable of catching Verstappen, will his team mate become the road block to claiming the elusive eight title.
Lewis not certain to beat George again
Brundle talks of the potential battle between the Mercedes pair should they find themselves in a title battle and now admits he cannot say for certain that Hamilton would win out.
“I think they’re so close, those two, if you look at the stats, but George had a couple of nightmare races this year. That’s a very good question,” he said.
“It depends if Lewis maintains his current motivation, but it’s so close to call.”
Hamilton has shown over the years to be a character who wears his heart on his sleeve and when the going is good, the highs are high, but when its not so good Lewis can often look as though he is in total despair.
Brundle “cannot say” Hamilton will beat Russell
With Verstappen vowing after the fourth race of the year never to be beaten by his team mate again before the end of the season, the Dutch driver came good on his mission despite starting the next race nine slots below Checo. He then pout a string of 10 consecutive race wins together becoming th efirst driver in F1 history to achieve this feat.
Brundle accepts Hamilton has the experience to win another title, but counters this with the fact he is up against a formidable team mate, something Hamilton has not experienced that often in his career. So in a championship battle, the Sky F1 commentator is unsure of who would come out on top.
“Lewis knows how to do that but George has got youth on his side. I don’t know the answer to that, but I definitely wouldn’t say, ‘Oh, Lewis without a doubt, because he’s already a seven-time champion.’ That I would absolutely not say.
“Until George is in a championship-winning position, we don’t know if he’s got the head to cope with it.”
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The topic is somewhat of a moot point given how far Mercedes are behind their Red Bull rivals and it is likely their next best hope of a championship is in 2026 when the engine regulations change along with significant new chassis rules.
At 41 will Hamilton be motivated to try again or could he move to the WEC and take a shot at winning Le Mans, the worlds most famous endurance race.
Unlike Verstappen, Hamilton has little experience racing anything but F1 cars and switching to the hypercard category in the WEC would be a real challenge of his unknown abilities to adapt to a racing challenge that requires a totally different skill set to the one he has used so successfully in Formula One.
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In the annals of Formula One, few seasons have been as dominated by a single driver as the 2023 season of Max Verstappen. The Dutchman’s relentless pursuit of excellence led him to a third consecutive world championship, setting new standards and cementing his place among the sport’s greats, making the Red Bull driver seems almost invulnerable. But recent developments have shown this not to be the case.
Verstappen’s season began with an air of inevitability. From the opening race in Bahrain, it was clear that he and his Red Bull Racing team had struck a near-perfect balance between car performance and strategy. His RB19 car, a marvel of engineering, was a…READ MORE ON THIS STORY
With over 30 years of experience in Formula 1 as an insider journalist, I have built trusted connections across the paddock, from race engineers and mechanics to senior team figures. At The Judge 13, I and a handful of trusted colleagues share exclusive Formula 1 news, expert analysis and behind-the-scenes stories you will not find in mainstream motorsport media.
Hamilton is always 8 time winner. Verstappen did not win it. I stopped watching this stupid sport after that.
If Ham milton had won in Abu Dhabi, it woulf have been the most deceitful championship ever. His 2008 title is tainted. His wins in Mercedes are all due to skulduggery of FIA by Wolff and as if these are not enough, all through Abu Dhabi 21, Ham milton received unfair advantage from Masi. And the less said about his murderous intent in Silversons 21, the better. And let us not forget the spicy engine saga, cheating of the most egregious kind.
How can such a driver be called deserving of a title in 21? In an inferior car Max was way above Ham milton. If Ham had won it would have been a mockery. Wolff and MB screwed up the race and lost it. There is nothing to detract from Max’s well-deserved victory.
It is good that people who consider the sport stupid stay away. F1 is the better for it.
The only thing really stupid are people commenting on f1 sites that they stop watching f1.