Lewis Hamilton’s dream may be dead as Brit ‘starting to lose speed’

Hamilton opens up on plans to remain in F1 ahead of 2023 season

Lewis Hamilton’s dream of winning an eighth world title may be slowly evaporating amid claims his natural talent is waning. Former British F1 world champion Damon Hill believes it is possible Hamilton’s “unconscious speed” is on the way out.

It comes after Hamilton has been outqualified by new team-mate George Russell at all three races this season. The 38-year-old is ahead of Russell in the Drivers’ Championship but this is mainly down to bad luck and mechanical woes for the ex-Williams youngster.

Hill told the F1 Nation podcast: “George is super quick and he’s revelling in the early part of his career and he’s got this speed. I don’t know if Lewis has acknowledged that he can’t match that, I’m sure he will do eventually.

“I’m sure he will do eventually but it’s possible that instinctive unconscious speed is starting to leave him. It does happen.”

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Hamilton still harbours hope of entering the record books with an eighth crown but knows time is against him. To win another championship, the British star will most likely have to beat Max Verstappen who is at the top of his game after winning two back-to-back titles.

The situation somewhat mirrors Hamilton’s own F1 entry back in 2007 when the rookie GP2 champion got the better of F1 star Fernando Alonso. Hill says the arrival of younger and faster drivers can become an issue for their experienced rivals who then have to adapt their driving style.

He also compared Russell’s situation to Alain Prost versus Niki Lauda at McLaren in 1984. Lauda came out on top in their first year together with Prost edging the three-time champion in 1985.

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Hill added: “They’ve got an option, they either get depressed about it, throw their hands up in the air and say it’s all over. Or they can devote their energies to making sure the outcome in the race is actually the thing that matters.

“So they may give up a little but in qualifying. In their late 30s they can no longer do those absurd transcendental laps they used to be able do when they were in their 20s. They can focus on getting somewhere in the race… As you get older you’ve had a lot more experiences.

“Maybe you’ve had some crashes. Maybe it’s gone wrong. Then your brain goes okay now I need to be more circumspect maybe than before.

“I wonder whether that is just a little bit of a factor when you start to get later on in your career, you go ‘well the last thing I want to do now is stick it in the tyres over there’.”

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