Apart from the fact that he dwarfs Michael Schumacher’s record of seven drivers’ world championships, Lewis Hamilton has nothing more to achieve in Formula 1. In view of his record 100 race victories, the Briton does not need this one additional series championship to part with Schumacher.
With 12 points behind Max Verstappen at the Mexico City Grand Prix next weekend, Hamilton remains on the hunt for the eighth championship and will certainly fight for it in 2022 if he cannot catch up with the young Dutch star this season.
But what happens beyond that is back in the game. Hamilton might have said as much ..
Don’t write off Formula 1 superstar Lewis Hamilton yet
Pole position qualifier Lewis Hamilton from Great Britain and Mercedes GP after qualifying before the Formula 1 Grand Prix of Turkey in Istanbul Park on October 9, 2021. | Umit Bektas – Pool / Getty Images
This season is the first time since 2016 that Lewis Hamilton is no longer deciding his own fate this late in the season. Five years ago he was four races to go, 33 points behind Nico Rosberg, finished on the first podium in all four races and still remained just behind the championship.
Hamilton and his Mercedes team have to catch up 12 points on Max Verstappen in the last five races. Under normal circumstances, that could still qualify Hamilton as a favorite. This year, however, Red Bull Racing seems to have caught up with Mercedes on the technology front and even surpassed it.
In 2022 it will be a moot point. Although Formula 1 sticks to the same engine specs, which is always the deciding factor, changes to the front of the car will affect everyone’s aerodynamics package. It has the potential to extend Red Bull’s lead or bring Mercedes back to the top. Given that there has been no apparent drop in his driving style, the latter scenario offers Hamilton a plausible path to another championship.
Lewis Hamilton drops a hint about his future in Formula 1
Lewis Hamilton made his Formula 1 debut with McLaren in 2007, won the Drivers’ Championship the following season and stayed with the team until 2012. The following year he moved to Mercedes, where he won six of its series championships. Mercedes was the best in F1 during Hamilton’s tenure.
Led by Michael Schumacher’s brilliance, Scuderia Ferrari won the constructors’ championship from 1999 to 2004, and then Kimi Raikkonen helped the team to the title in 2007-08. Ferrari stayed in the top four every year until 2019, then slumped to sixth place due to poor engine performance last year.
Now Ferrari is in fourth place with drivers Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz Jr., and Hamilton has noticed. “It’s great to see Charles grow,” he said, according to The Sports Rush. “He’s become a leader on a phenomenal team.”
Hamilton acknowledged Ferrari regained a foothold after a difficult year and then praised Leclerc again.
“He showed his potential early in his career,” said Hamilton. “His team will only evolve and it will grow with it. I’m looking forward to the future when we will hopefully race together more. “
The last time we checked, Hamilton drove with Leclerc in all Grand Prix races. So maybe Hamilton was alluding to fighting each other for wins and podiums.
Or, and this is the more intriguing possibility, perhaps Hamilton shyly signaled a desire to end his career alongside Leclerc. Driving for the traditional Ferrari team is like a baseball star with a sense of history who plays for the New York Yankees at the end of his career.
Lewis Hamilton’s admiration for Charles Leclerc and Ferrari is understandable
Charles Leclerc is in his third season for Ferrari after winning championships in the GP3 and Formula 2 series, followed by a season with the Alfa Romeo Sauber F1 Team. In his Ferrari debut season, he won twice and scored 10 podiums, but only three podiums since then. Even so, he has just turned 24 and looks to have at least a decade of Formula 1 racing ahead of him.
Whether that is the case as a teammate with Lewis Hamilton, 36, remains to be seen. Despite the ambiguity in his comments about the race with Leclerc, Hamilton has historically been just lukewarm to driving a Ferrari F1 car.
Hamilton previously said he spoke to Ferrari but their positions “never aligned” due to contractual obligations.
“When I go to Monza and see the fans for years, I hear them say, ‘Come to Ferrari,'” said Hamilton. “It warms my heart, but it’s pretty amazing that I’ve never driven for Ferrari after so many years because it’s a dream for everyone, a goal to be achieved. It was never really possible and I will never know exactly why. “
However, in a previous interview, Hamilton said he never really thought about leaving Mercedes for Ferrari.
“It just shouldn’t be,” he said, according to Sky Sports.
Perhaps one more championship with Mercedes will be enough to make Hamilton decide that it should be.
All statistics courtesy of Racing Reference.
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