Age is something which comes to us all and at 40 years of age Lewis Hamilton is attempting something only achieved three times before in Formula One history – to win a world championship. Juan Manuel Fangio won his first F1 title at the age Hamilton now is, going on to claim a further four before his retirement.
Yet in the 1950’s and early 60’s it was common place for F1 drivers to race much later in life with Giuseppe Farina winning his title at the age of 43 and Jack Brabham when he was 40. But in the modern world where the athleticism is now off the charts, its understandable that the last winner of a Grand Prix over 40 years of age was Nigel Mansell back in 1994.
Whilst its not unreasonable to expect Lewis to win the odd Grand Prix going forward, is it realistic that at his age he can turn the tides of history? Hamilton is suffering his worst start to a season since his move to Ferrari as after fourteen rounds of competition he is yet to claim a podium finish. Meanwhile his team mate Charles Leclerc has five to his name along with a pole position, whilst Lewis best finish has been P4 in Imola, Austria and Silverstone.
“Elephant in the room”: Hamilton’s age
Fellow racer and Mercedes simulator driver Anthony Davidson has reacted to Hamilton’s downbeat assessment of his current form, when the seven times champion suggested in the media pen that he was “useless, utterly useless” and that Ferrari should “get an other driver.”
Despite Hamilton having to cope with the incremental pressure that comes with being a Ferrari driver and the demands of adapting to a new design of car and engine, Davison believes Lewis is suffering from something which comes to us all.
“This is just another hurdle that he’s having to overcome, and I don’t mind saying it because it’s the elephant in the room,” said Davidson after watching Hamilton’s self critical assessment. “I’ve been there myself as a driver, age is a factor as well. I feel like this time of reflection for him, as an athlete ages, it does [affect performance]. “Whatever anyone says, even himself, others that are very involved with Lewis, fans, they won’t understand where I’m coming from, but I’ve lived and breathed it as an athlete. I’m now retired at 46. You start asking yourself questions. It’s only natural.”
This is a very different assessment than the one made by Hamilton’s old boss as the pair tussled for months over a new contract for the seven ties champion. “Lewis’ age at 38 plays no role for this next contract,” Wolff explained. “If you look at how well top athletes in the world have pushed the boundaries, I’m thinking about Tom Brady who is 45 and he’s on the pitch throwing the ball and being tackled, so the age plays no role.”
Shocking comparison between Leclerc and Hamilton
Yet late in the year when the pair finally put pen to paper, Wolff had refused to give Hamilton the term he had requested, framing the deal as ‘multi-year’ but in reality there were break clauses on both sides after just one season. Lewis response was to sign with Ferrari for 2025, just a few weeks after the ink had dried on his new Mercedes deal.
Hamilton’s only joy this year was at round two in the Sprint, where he claimed pole position and led the race from the start to the chequered flag. He is 12-2 behind his team mate in terms of Grand Prix finishing positions and 10-4 down in Grand Prix qualifying. This has led to a number of interviews where a introspective Hamilton has questioned himself in front of the camera.
Davidson explains how this comes about saying: “When you have a feeling, you have a feeling. There’s a lot going on in the background that is not great.” To add to the difficulties Hamilton is facing, the Sky F1 presenter acknowledges the impact of being a Ferrari driver at the same time. “We all know what Ferrari is like, at least from the outside. We have a few friends, ex-colleagues that are on the inside and they confirm the beliefs from in the paddock that it’s a pressure cooker.
“There’s a high expectation on the Italian national team to perform and the request of the standards are incredibly high… He knew what he was walking into, but it’s never easy.” Lewis Hamilton’s loss of form has been dramatic and follows the titanic season long struggle he had with Max Verstappen back in 2021. There are those who have questioned whether the huge impact of being denied a record eighth title in such dramatic fashion was mentally too much for Lewis to take.
Hamilton fall from grace spectacular
Since the fateful day in Abu Dhabi, Lewis has won just two races in 82 Grand Prix weekends. Yet his fall from grace also coincides with a challenging regulation change in the way the cars are designed. In 2022 the FIA regulated for the teams to once again use ‘ground effect’ aerodynamics, which use low pressure under the floor to suck the cars onto the track.
The feel behind the wheel in this era of car is very different as the centre of pressure now hurtles from front to back and again the other way in the blink of an eye. This means Hamilton feels the rear of his car is permanently light and not planted, something he did not have during his all conquering Mercedes days.
Davidson believes this is no co-incidence in terms of Lewis’ lack of pace. “For me, Lewis has never been the same driver since we saw the 2022 regulations come along and he’s had to work harder than ever before to rework his style that he’s done many times before in Formula 1. The cars have changed a long way… and he’s had to reinvent himself along the way.”
New 2026 cars may suit Lewis better
In terms of Hamilton’s recent self flagellation, Davidson sees this all as part of the process. “You start asking yourself questions. It’s only natural.” Despite being outclassed this year by his team mate, Hamilton (109) lies one place behind Leclerc (139) in the drivers title race and with a contract for next season iron clad, he must hope the new breed of F1 cars offer him something more to his liking.
The new floor designs for 2026 will be partially flat along with a lower powered diffuser. This should reduce much of the ground effect characteristics of the current crop which are forced to rely on uber stiff and low setups, which when the regulations were introduced created bouncing and proposing effects.
Russell’s theory on Ferrari “illegal ride height” challenged
The weekend of the 2025 Hungarian Grand Prix saw a number of strange results on track. Firstly having dominated practice, come qualifying McLaren failed to claim pole position as a highly surprised Charles Leclerc pipped Oscar Piastri by 0.026 of a second.
The Hungaroring has undergone significant upgrades over the past twelve months which included a resurface. This of course throws out of kilter the F1 teams’ historic data from previous years racing there and may go some way to explain why Red Bull failed on Friday night to overcome their setup problems in the simulator back in Milton Keynes.
In qualifying the weather too was quite different. Instead of the usual central European baking hot summer, the afternoon was cloudy and windy and we saw the track temperature fall a whopping 15 degrees clerics from the start of Q1 to mid-way through the final session…. READ MORE
The Judge, a nom de plume of an experienced F1 journalist and site founder with long-standing sources across the paddock. 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.
