It’s time for Lewis Hamilton to consider his F1 future

Hamilton's torrid last year at Mercedes, Even the greats have a shelf life, 'A sitting duck', Domenicali: 'Hamilton will triumph again', Difficult to script the perfect career end

Started 12th, finished 12th, not what Lewis Hamilton is about, really, is it? Still, he appears to have calmed a little from the emotional response to qualifying. Hamilton has always turned molten after setbacks, reflecting his intensity and desire. Saturday might therefore be seen as just another over-reaction to disappointment. He has a month to recover, to determine how best to attack what remains of this season and next. The scale of his despondency in the context of a difficult season, not to mention his 40 years, triggered a slew of hot takes suggesting this indeed might be the end of things. Bernie Ecclestone, under whose stewardship Hamilton made his electric Formula One debut 18 years ago, thought it might be time for him to consider his future to avoid coming to any harm. (Photo: Joe Portlock/Getty)

Hamilton's torrid last year at Mercedes

Hamilton's torrid last year at Mercedes, Even the greats have a shelf life, 'A sitting duck', Domenicali: 'Hamilton will triumph again', Difficult to script the perfect career end

Hamilton has clearly struggled with the characteristics of the Ferrari, a technical pickle compounded by the comparative strength of his team-mate Charles Leclerc. That superiority is most readily expressed in qualifying, where Leclerc heads into the summer recess with a 10-4 readout. This follows Hamilton’s torrid experience in his last year at Mercedes when he was pumped 19-5 by George Russell. Hamilton was perhaps entitled to a down year in his final season having already committed to Ferrari. And to be running in Leclerc’s slip stream is not so surprising given his team-mate’s familiarity with the car and the team, and his considerable talent. (Photo: Kym Illman/Getty)

Even the greats have a shelf life

Hamilton's torrid last year at Mercedes, Even the greats have a shelf life, 'A sitting duck', Domenicali: 'Hamilton will triumph again', Difficult to script the perfect career end

However, this is Lewis Hamilton we are talking about, a driver who took down Fernando Alonso in his rookie year at McLaren and arrived at Maranello as a seven-time world champion. The depth of Hamilton’s gifts is understood. He has zip to prove to any. Equally, even the great ones have a shelf life and this is something he will have to consider in the weeks and months ahead. Next season will tell us more. About that he was jauntily hopeful just two races ago at Silverstone, addressing the media with a steady hand and speaking with real enthusiasm about the adjustments being made by driver and team to speed his assimilation. (Photo: Bertrand Guay/AFP via Getty)

'A sitting duck'

Hamilton's torrid last year at Mercedes, Even the greats have a shelf life, 'A sitting duck', Domenicali: 'Hamilton will triumph again', Difficult to script the perfect career end

The Hungarian Grand Prix unfolded as he expected. “I’m a bit of a sitting duck here,” Hamilton said moments before he was picked off by Max Verstappen on new tyres. There would be no Hammer time this day, no shredding of the field en route to a podium. Indeed, Leclerc was unable to convert pole into a top-three finish, ending fourth. That unhappy denouement was foretold in a series of cryptic communications with the Ferrari pit wall while Leclerc was still leading. Clearly the superior tyre management of the McLarens and the cooler temperatures that brought Russell’s Mercedes into the equation proved too much for a Ferrari battling unexplained power unit issues as well as long-standing ride height troubles. At least Leclerc found the sweet spot in qualifying. Hamilton is way off that, which on Saturday led to the “I’m useless, Ferrari need a new driver” outage. (Photo: Leonhard Foeger/Pool/AFP via Getty)

Domenicali: 'Hamilton will triumph again'

Hamilton's torrid last year at Mercedes, Even the greats have a shelf life, 'A sitting duck', Domenicali: 'Hamilton will triumph again', Difficult to script the perfect career end

It took the reasoned presence of F1 chief executive and former Ferrari team principal, Stefano Domenicali, to calm everybody down. “First of all Lewis is a jewel, an incredible athlete, so no matter if it is a difficult moment, he will react and I am pretty sure he will show the reason why he is here,” Domenicali said. “He wants to achieve his eighth title, and he will triumph again. So stay with Lewis, he will do a great race, and be very, very strong after the summer season.” (Photo: Dan Istitene - Formula 1/Formula 1 via Getty)

Difficult to script the perfect career end

Hamilton's torrid last year at Mercedes, Even the greats have a shelf life, 'A sitting duck', Domenicali: 'Hamilton will triumph again', Difficult to script the perfect career end

What all of this demonstrates is the impossibility of scripting the perfect end to a career in sport. Hamilton comes to the piece with neuroreceptors furred by deep experience. Unlike the freewheeling tyros setting out, Hamilton’s head is full of stuff. He has lost the ability to respond instinctively as he did in his youth when he gave Alonso serious grief before engraving his name into the F1 annals. (Photo: Bryn Lennon - Formula 1/Formula 1 via Getty)

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