F1 Rumor: With Hamilton showing his age, is Verstappen in play? (2nd Update)
Speaking on Backstage Boxengasse, Sky Sports Germany’s F1 podcast, former racer and pundit Ralf Schumacher detailed why he believes Lewis Hamilton could throw in the towel this year.
Hamilton’s woes at Ferrari alongside Charles Leclerc, who is currently navigating his seventh campaign with the Italian outfit, were perhaps most prevalent in Jeddah last weekend.
Leclerc steered his Ferrari to P3, bringing home the first grand prix podium of 2025 for the Maranello team, but following his P7 finish on Sunday, Hamilton appeared to have run out of excuses for his lack of success, admitting: “Clearly the car is capable of being P3 so Charles did a great job today so… I can’t blame it on that.”
Schumacher does not see things ending well for Hamilton on his current trajectory.
“He just can’t cope with the car. We talk a lot about Lando Norris, but it’s almost worse with him. You can see that, he’s really slumped over. If you’re standing there at some point and have no more resources and are permanently slower, then you lose everything.”
Schumacher continued: “I know from my own experience: if it goes on like this, it’s no fun anymore. Then at some point, he wakes up in the morning and thinks to himself: ‘Why am I doing this to myself? I’m no longer having fun, I can’t do it anymore. I’m getting in the way of my team.”
April 21, 2025
40-year-old Lewis Hamilton continues to have doubts about his ability behind the wheel of an F1 car. Will Hamilton decide to retire at the end of 2025 before he does further damage to his reputation, thereby opening the door for Max Verstappen?
Last year he was crushed by Mercedes teammate George Russell, and this year he is being crushed by Ferrari teammate Charles Leclerc.
Hamilton admits says he does not feel comfortable in his Ferrari F1 car for “one second” despite having all the latest upgrades. He finished 30 seconds behind in Saudi Arabia in 7th while Leclerc was on the podium in the other Ferrari.
Hamilton looked dejected as he spoke in the TV pen after the race, where he admitted he is still not happy in Ferrari’s 2025 car.
Asked if there was a moment in the race he felt comfortable, Hamilton replied: “No. There wasn’t one second, no.
“Clearly the car is capable of being P3. Charles did a great job today so I can’t blame the car.”
Pushed if he knows why he is struggling to get to grips with the Ferrari, Hamilton simply replied: “No.”
When asked what he needs to get to grips with the Ferrari, he retorted: “A brain transplant,” ending the interview in just 37 seconds.
Should Hamilton decide it is best to step out of the Ferrari cockpit after just one year, two possible scenarios arise for his replacement:
- Max Verstappen leaves struggling Red Bull and goes to Ferrari, giving Ferrari the strongest driver lineup in Verstappen and Leclerc
- Max Verstappen goes to Mercedes (as rumored) and Italian Kimi Antonelli gets farmed out to Ferrari by Mercedes – a dream scenario for the Italians – an Italian driver in the Italian car. Even F1 CEO Stefano Domenicali thinks so.
April 15, 2025
Is Lewis Hamilton washed up at 40-years-old, and might we see Max Verstappen leave the failing Red Bull team and replace Hamilton at Ferrari?
–by Mark Cipolloni–
After George Russell wiped the floor with Lewis Hamilton last year, and with Charles Leclerc doing the same this year, is Hamilton too old now and is it time for Ferrari to make a play for arguably the greatest driver in F1 history – Max Verstappen?
Related Article: F1 News: How long before Verstappen kisses the Red Bull sled goodbye?
Related Article: F1 News: Alguersuari explains why Verstappen is the greatest ever
Would Hamilton Resign from Ferrari now that he realizes his better days are behind him?
Hamilton admits he’s “just not doing the job” right now after he qualified ninth in Bahrain, seven places behind Ferrari teammate Charles Leclerc in the identical car. It appears he is beginning to recognize that at 40-years of age, his better days are behind him.
Hamilton was slower than Leclerc in Suzuka and he tried to blame his lack of pace on the fact he did not have the latest Ferrari floor. In Bahrain, he had the latest Ferrari upgrades and the gap to Leclerc grew even larger.
Hamilton sounded like a defeated man on the way back to the pits after his final Bahrain Q3 run, repeatedly shaking his head on the onboard camera as race engineer Riccardo Adami informed him of how far off the pace he was.
When asked what he was apologizing for after qualifying, Hamilton told Sky Sports F1: “Just about my performance. My poor performance.
“There are no reasons. I’m just not doing the job.”
Hamilton’s post-qualifying interview with TheRace.com is revealing:
Question: You don’t seem happy, can you take us through your qualifying session?
Hamilton: It was pretty straightforward. Pretty much just…
Q: Had a deleted lap in Q3, put a little bit of extra pressure on the final run?
Hamilton: It didn’t help but it wasn’t the worst so…
Q: Are you finding the window of performance in this car quite narrow or fluctuating? It must be quite frustrating to try and get the most out of the Ferrari?
Hamilton: I’m just not doing a good job on my side so I just need to keep improving.
Q: New floor is a step, Charles was saying probably isn’t best track to see it, but going in right direction?
Hamilton: Yeah.
Q: What’s possible tomorrow?
Hamilton: Hopefully top five, I’ll try to see if I can get in the top five. We’ll see.
Q: Positive to see Leclerc way up there?
Hamilton: Yeah, clearly the car is good enough.
Q: You came to Ferrari with such hope and optimism, riding a good wave, is this the lowest you’ve felt since joining Ferrari? You’ve looked pretty down?
Hamilton: It’s definitely not a good feeling for sure.
Q: Last week talked about the difference between the two cars, has that been resolved? No issues?
Hamilton: It’s been resolved.
Q: Where do you go from here? What’s the route forward?
Hamilton: I really don’t know, I really don’t know. I don’t have a lot of answers for you guys. Just wasn’t quick today.
Max Verstappen may leave Red Bull
If Max Verstappen is lower than 3rd in the point standings at the summer break, word is that an exit clause in his Red Bull contract will be exercised and the fight will be on to sign Verstappen, between Mercedes, Aston Martin, McLaren and, yes, possibly even Ferrari.
Related Articles
F1 Rumor: Aston Martin prepared to pay Verstappen $1.2 billion over 5 years
Formula 1 News: Zak Brown pursuing Max Verstappen
F1 News: Ecclestone, Wolff, think Hamilton ‘washed up’ in F1