'Critical' warning for Lewis Hamilton if Ferrari woes continue

Lewis Hamilton’s ongoing struggles since joining Ferrari are “starting to get a bit critical”, according to Sky Sports F1’s Karun Chandhok.

The seven-time world champion was visibly dejected after a disappointing Spanish Grand Prix, describing it as the “worst race” he has experienced in a Ferrari.

Hamilton started from a season’s best fifth on the grid and ran as high as fourth in the early stages, but struggled for pace and was soon asked to make way for Ferrari teammate Charles Leclerc.

Following a late Safety Car, Hamilton was passed by Sauber’s Nico Hulkenberg as he slipped to seventh on the road, which became sixth thanks to Max Verstappen’s post-race penalty.

Hamilton was in an extremely downbeat mood after the race and gave a series of incredibly short answers in his media interviews.

And Chandhok believes the situation the 40-year-old Briton finds himself in is concerning.

“It’s starting to get a bit critical,” Chandhok told the F1 Show.

“We’re coming into the second third of the season now and he’s not finding the rhythm. He’s not finding consistency where week in, week out, he’s in a happy place in the car.

“In Imola, he was woeful in qualifying, then suddenly the car’s brilliant in the race. In Monaco, he wasn’t quite there. He was a chunk behind Charles throughout.

“There’s got to be a degree of concern creeping in. When you look at Spain, the fact that Charles overtook him and drove away from him quite comfortably, even before we go into the different tyres and stuff later on.

“If I was on the Lewis side of the garage, I would be concerned. We are nearly at halfway through the year now, we need to start understanding whether this a fundamental issue, that we need to change the direction of the set-up of the car.

“I’m not disputing that he’s still got the ability. He clearly does. He’s able to win races – we saw that in China – but they need to find a sweet spot for him, where every weekend he knows what he’s got, and they haven’t got that.

“He’s still having too many good days and bad days. The fluctuations are too much.”

Can Hamilton turn things around in Canada?

Hamilton now heads to one of his favourite tracks on the F1 calendar for this weekend’s Canadian Grand Prix.

F1’s most successful driver has claimed six pole positions and seven victories in Montreal, and Sky Sports F1 commentator David Croft would not be surprised to see Hamilton rediscover his form at the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve.

“I think the next race is quite critical for Lewis because Canada is a place he goes so well at. It’s a place he loves. He got his first pole and first win there,” Croft said.

“This is Lewis Hamilton’s track. If he has another down day, like you did in Barcelona, then there are issues.

“If anyone can do it and turn it around, the seven-time World Champion that is Lewis Hamilton can definitely turn that around.”