"Age has caught up with" Lewis Hamilton with F1 future in spotlight

Lewis Hamilton needs to “reset” but and faces a tough decision about whether he should retire from F1, according to a former grand prix driver.

Seven-time world champion Hamilton has endured a tough debut campaign with Ferrari which plunged to new depths at the Hungarian Grand Prix, where he qualified and finished a disappointing 12th.

During the weekend, a despondent Hamilton described himself as “useless” and told Ferrari they should “change driver” as the 40-year-old Briton’s struggles to adapt to the SF-25 continued at one of his best circuits.

Former F1 driver and steward Herbert believes the question of retirement will be playing on Hamilton’s mind.

“He's had a frustrating year so far and that outburst was probably a symptom of one of those hurtful weekends for him,” Herbert told Grosvenor Casino.

“He struggled and then when he looks where his teammate is of course he's on pole position, so the difference is huge! He's very honest when he speaks. He's very critical of himself. And it is that frustration.

“So where is his head? Well, his head is still very motivated. I think he's already said that. He still enjoys it, which is very important. But it's all down to really those performances. And those performances just haven't been able to come.

“It's been Charles who's been very consistent and then when the window of opportunity came in that Ferrari, Charles was able to do it without making any mistakes.

“There were a couple of mistakes on that qualifying lap in Lewis which didn't get him through to the next stage.

“It’s building within himself. When he won at Silverstone last year, he said didn't think he would have won another race. So, there was already doubt in his mind. Now he's having a very similar struggle in his new team.

“It's always going to be how you stand up to your teammate. And Charles, I have to say, is driving probably the best I've seen him. He is more consistent, and he was mistake-free in qualifying.

“For Lewis, it's going to be one of those situations again, where he has to reset. But how many times do you have to reset before you come to the realisation that it's not where it once was.”

Herbert went on to add: “I can see there's a point in a drivers' career when you must make a decision. But it's very hard for a driver to make the decision at the right time.

“If things don't click and get better, then maybe it will be something he will have a hard thought about and realise it's not there anymore and maybe it is time to move on and try other things in his life.”

Has age caught up with Lewis Hamilton?

Herbert also suggested that age could be playing a role in Hamilton’s current performance woes as more uncharacteristic mistakes start to creep in.

“You feel the same as you did when you first started and then those little mistakes come in,” he explained.

“Things aren't the same as they used to be, everything changes, everything gets slightly slower as do reaction times. Those tiny mistakes that come in but they do make quite a big difference to his position on the grid for example.

“That's where age does come into play and it's not as if he happens at 30 or 35 or 38 or 40 or at any particular time. It varies from driver to driver and historically that's always been the case.

“But there is a point especially in Formula One because of the speed that these cars are doing that adapting to a new formula, like ground effect, is a huge thing.

“You would have expected Lewis in his heyday to have adjusted his driving style around the problems. That's what he used to be able to do quite easily and that's not as easy to do now.

“So yes, age has definitely caught up with him.”