One-time world champion Jacques Villeneuve has questioned whether Lewis Hamilton could retire mid-season. The Brit has experienced his worst start to an F1 campaign since 2009, and was lapped by Max Verstappen as he went on to finish 13 at Sunday’s Imola GP which must have left a bitter taste in the champion’s mouth.
Currently, Mercedes are a far cry from the team who won eight constructors championships in a row and Hamilton already seems to be out of this season’s title race. As a result, 1997 F1 world champion Villeneuve has speculated on the the 37-year-old’s future in the sport.
“Will Hamilton still be there in two, three years?” the Canadian wrote in his column for Formule1.nl . “Will he even reach the end of this season? You can’t see into someone’s head. You can be down and depressed or you can be unable to deal with no longer winning.
“Then maybe it’s time to decide life is better without racing. We’ve been surprised in the past – it’s happened that champions have sometimes just had enough.” Hamilton is the most successful driver in the history of F1 and is one of the biggest sports stars in the world.
The Canadian went on to assess the dynamics within the Silver Arrows camp at present and the challenges that come with dealing with a ‘megastar’ and relative newcomer. “At Mercedes, they now in any event need to learn how to lose,” he added. “For years, they drove everyone into the ground. If someone got closer, they just opened the throttle.
“This year, they don’t have that advantage anymore. George Russell is doing a good job in the role of underdog. He learned this at Williams, while Hamilton has always had something to fight for. A few columns ago, I was already wondering how they will handle this within the team.
“This is the risk of having such a megastar in your team. Hamilton wasn’t in the right rhythm from the off this weekend. He also didn’t look aggressive enough, as if he couldn’t fight. That he ended up getting lapped can happen. That’s the sum total of all the factors, plus the bad car.
“He won’t keep having such terrible weekends and he will beat Russell. But it won’t be easy being the head of the Mercedes team right now." Hamilton sits seventh in the drivers standings, while teammate George Russell is currently fourth.
Mercedes are currently third in the constructors standings as they prepare for the inaugural Miami GP on May 8 and Hamilton will hope for a vast improvement.
