Lewis Hamilton, the most well-known figure in the world of Formula 1, has been facing challenges during the current ground-effect era. Since 2022, he has been struggling to surpass the competition from Mercedes and while the team hasn’t been supportive with their underwhelming cars, Hamilton himself hasn’t been performing at his highest level.
In 2022, Hamilton joined Mercedes from Williams, and it was expected that he would outshine his younger British teammate. However, to everyone’s surprise, it was the opposite. Russell managed to score 275 points, including a Grand Prix victory, while Hamilton only achieved 240 points.
After facing criticism, the 39-year-old managed to turn the tables and outperformed his teammate in the following year, accumulating 234 points compared to Russell’s 175.
Considering this, the seven-time world champion was anticipated to dominate his young teammate in the ongoing season. However, Russell has consistently outperformed Hamilton in qualifying and race trim, displaying superior skills in every aspect. This has led to speculation about whether Hamilton has lost his pace during the turbo hybrid era due to his age.
With Hamilton set to join Ferrari next year, he may face even more challenges against the talented driver. Taking all of this into account, his contract with Ferrari could potentially be his last in the pinnacle of motor racing.
While Hamilton deals with his average performances under the current regulations, Mercedes believes that their 2024 car, the W15, is their best creation under the current set of rules. The previous models, W13 and W14, were considered failures.
Looking ahead to the season, Toto Wolff, the team principal of Mercedes, remains optimistic about the W15’s performance.
2021 marked the end of the turbo hybrid era and the last time Hamilton competed for the coveted F1 world championship. With his age of 39, his time in the sport is limited, making it intriguing to see how the rest of the ongoing campaign unfolds for him.
Regardless of his performance, fans will eagerly watch Hamilton represent the iconic red gear of Ferrari on their TV screens next year. One of Hamilton’s final aspirations in F1 is to have another serious opportunity to compete for the F1 world title.