Senior F1 figure tells Hamilton to “quit” – Lewis Hamilton has been a shadow of his former self since losing the 2021 title race to Max Verstappen. In the 82 race weekends since that fateful day in Abu Dhabi, the seven times world champion has won just two Grand Prix. One of those was by default, given his team mate George Russell had taken the chequered flag first in Belgium last year, only to later be disqualified for a technical error made by the team.
Once the master over a single lap in qualifying, Hamilton has been hammered by his team mates over the past four seasons. His move to Ferrari was meat to provide a reset, but as was the case last year with George Russell, Lewis is finding his new team mate difficult to beat.
With just 10 race weekends of this year remaining, Charles Leclerc holds a dominant 10-4 lead over his team mate in qualifying and in terms of finishing ahead of Hamilton, the tally is even higher at 12-2.
Hamilton tells Ferrari to replace him
Having watched his team mate claim pole position in Hungary, whilst he himself was knocked out in the second qualifying session, a dejected Hamilton remarked that Ferrari should find another driver to replace him with. Even after the Grand Prix the message was similar as Lewis repeated how he felt.
Hamilton now 40 years of age is past the peak of his athletic powers and his driving style, like that of Daniel Ricciardo, struggles to cope with the demands of the new breed of F1 ground effect car designs. Now in the eighth month of his Ferrari career, Hamilton appears at a loss to explain his huge loss in form, which now in its fourth year shows little sign of being reversed.
Ex-F1 supremo Bernie Ecclestone now tells the seven times world champion its time to call it a day. Despite his down brat assessment of himself in Hungary, Hamilton indicated he may return after the F1 summer break. “Lewis is very talented, was and probably still is,” reports The Mail. “But like a lot of leading sports personalities when they reach the top, there is only one way to go, and it’s not a good direction. It’s only down.
“They get tired. Lewis is tired. He’s been doing what he is doing forever. He needs a rest from it for good, a total reset to do something completely different. He may not think it but he will soon get used to doing other stuff away from motor racing in retirement. I think he should have done it a while ago,” advises Ecclestone.
Ecclestone advises Lewis to quit
The once Don of F1 advises Lewis to negotiate his exit with Ferrari and for them to find another driver. He said: “If I were Lewis, I would say to Ferrari that I wanted to be paid all my contract, in full. They signed him because they thought he could do a job. ‘It isn’t working so I can I can make way if you want me to, but that’s the arrangement’’. It could work for both parties.”
Ecclestone’s 40 year tenure in F1 ended in 2017, with the sale of the commercial rights to Liberty Media. He presided over eras when the sport was incredibly dangerous, with drivers dying regularly from their injuries from he crashes.
Clearly considering the danger to the ageing champion, Ecclestone argues: “I wouldn’t want anything bad to happen to Lewis. He’s not fighting for a world championship and is at a stage of his life when it wouldn’t be worth him spending two years laid up in bed with a broken back or anything else nasty.
“He doesn’t need to take the risk any longer. He’s won seven world titles and that is quite enough,” suggested the diminutive 92 year old. In terms of replacing Hamilton at Ferrari, Ecclestone believes there are two rookie which would fit well with the Maranello based team. “If I could steal him, I’d take Isack Hadjar from Racing Bulls,” he said. “He has done super well in his first year and is a great guy. I also rate our friend from Brazil (Sauber’s Gabriel Bortoleto). He is talented. Both of them are sensible, too.”
Mekies solution to the 2nd Red Bull seat
Wolff says ‘one more year’
However, Lewis’ old Mercedes boss believes his once star driver should continue into 2026, when a huge regulation change is coming which will affect the design of the cars. “Lewis has unfinished business in Formula One,” says Wolff. “In the same way Mercedes underperformed in the latest set of regulations since 2022, it hit him. Maybe it is linked to driving style.
“So he shouldn’t go anywhere next year. It’s brand new cars, which will be completely different to drive, and new power units, so it is absolutely on for Lewis in 2026, and hopefully for many more years. If he has confidence in the car, there is no reason he cannot win an eighth world title.”
Whilst this may be the case, Hamilton will be twelve years older than after the last big rule change, which saw Mercedes develop a power unit which dominated the field. All it required for Hamilton to win a further six titles, was for him to beat his team mate and when Rosberg left at the end of 2016, the arrival of Valtteri Bottas meant this was a formality.
Hamilton’s fading powers
In the years following the new 2014 power units, Mercedes won a record eight consecutive constructor championships which included 54 1-2 Grand Prix finishes along the way. McLaren since their inception have 44 years more F1 competition than Mercedes, yet their tally of 1-2’s even now stands at just 55.
Hamilton’s success was indeed in no small part due to Mercedes dominance, which is evidenced by the fact he has been defeated by a much younger team mate, in three of the last four seasons. Unlike Fernando Alonso who enjoys merely competing in Formula One, Hamilton appears to be wired differently and if not winning gets extremely downcast. Ecclestone may be right in his assessment of Lewis’ situation and state of mind and it could be tie for the most successful British racing driver of all time to hang up his boots.
A Career That Demands Respect, But Not Blind Faith
Of course, it would be absurd to discard Hamilton’s legacy. The man is statistically the most successful driver in the sport’s history. But sport is brutal. Sentiment rarely carries points, and prestige doesn’t make the SF-25 any faster on corner exit.
The debate now isn’t about what Hamilton was, it’s about what he is—and what he has left. Is he still capable of clawing his way back to the top? Or is this Ferrari chapter going to go the way of so many post-title campaigns we’ve seen from greats before—a slow drift into obsolescence disguised by the illusion of hope?
The irony is that Hamilton may be the only person still convinced he can turn this ship around. Meanwhile, the world watches, and the media ask the question no champion ever wants to hear: is it time to stop?
Would Michael Schumacher Have Done the Same?
Comparisons are inevitable. Michael Schumacher famously returned to F1 in 2010 with Mercedes, but his comeback was short on wins and long on questions. Now Hamilton, who eclipsed Michael’s records, may find himself facing the same fate—an epilogue he never planned to write.
But maybe Bernie is right. Maybe Hamilton is “cheating himself” by hanging on too long, trapped by hope and contract clauses, desperately chasing a fairy tale ending that F1 no longer wants to write.
Over to the Jury
But what do you think? Has Lewis Hamilton reached the end of the road in Formula One, or is this just a rocky beginning to a glorious Ferrari comeback story waiting to unfold?
Should he fight on, or follow Bernie’s advice and bow out before things get worse?
Drop your verdict in the comments below, because The Judge is now turning the floor over to the jury.
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