Lewis Hamilton recently marched into his 15th Formula 1 world championship season, with his eye on the title, yet again. However, that isn’t the biggest talking point at the moment. The questions of whether the Briton will hang around beyond 2021 have started coming up already.

But, at the moment, citing lack of clarity from either Hamilton or his long-held team, the opinions are widely divided. Amid the rise in concerns over Hamilton’s future in F1, Ralf Schumacher too joined the mix by making a bold prediction.

Schumacher expecting Lewis Hamilton to retire soon

The brother of seven-time world champion, Michael Schumacher, believes that the time is near for Lewis Hamilton to bid his final goodbye to F1.

“We’ll say goodbye to Lewis sooner or later. Maybe next season,” the German told Sport1. (Translated via Google Translate)

Hamilton recently signed a one-year deal with Mercedes, which expires by the end of the ongoing season. And although it doesn’t look like Mercedes have moved on from their star driver, it is the Briton’s extravagant price tag that’s irking the team amid the entry of cost cap.

And Mercedes aren’t lacking other options, as they have got George Russell, waiting to take up one of the seats in the championship-winning team.

We’re all getting older: Schumacher

The former F1 driver felt that even if Mercedes are ready to extend Hamilton‘s stay, the latter might not be too keen on pushing himself to the limit, as his age might be a concerning factor.

“We’re all getting older,” he said. Furthermore, with the rule changes coming into play next season, Hamilton wouldn’t want to continue racing “because of his age and his diverse interests.”

After a long haul of dominance in F1, Hamilton is finally feeling a bit of heat from behind, with Max Verstappen looking to win his maiden title.

The Dutchman looked solid throughout the weekend in Bahrain, and despite a string of wrong choices by the team during the race, Max was just 0.7 seconds behind the Briton.

Hence, it would be interesting to see how Max fares over the approaching race weekend in Imola.

Can he finally put a stop to Hamilton’s dominance in F1 and halt him from creating a new world championship record? Only time will tell.

Also Read: What Happens if Lewis Hamilton Leaves F1 After 2021? Speculating Possible Scenarios