If you go by statistics alone, there is no greater driver in Formula 1 than Lewis Hamilton. Even his rookie season in 2007 is considered to be the absolute best, not only in terms of the points he scored but the manner in which he took on a reigning double-world champion teammate in Fernando Alonso. He missed becoming the only F1 driver to win a championship in his rookie season (ignoring the 1950 season for obvious reasons) by a single point. In short, Lewis Hamilton seemed destined for greatness since the day he arrived in Formula 1.

17 seasons later, he now has the same number of championships as the legendary Michael Schumacher, and his decision to switch to Ferrari could very well yield another championship for him considering how quickly the Scuderia is improving their car. However, former Ferrari boss, Peter Windsor is convinced that Lewis is long past his prime, and despite giving all the monetary boost to Ferrari, including the $20 billion increase in market evaluation and sponsorships, he will not be able to get on top of the car like some of the young drivers can.

“Yeah, probably,“ Peter said while answering a question on his YouTube Live Chat about whether Lewis is past his peak. “He’s not getting any younger. He’s already won seven World Championships, he’s gone through the agony of everything that happened in Abu Dhabi ’21. And at Mercedes after that, rubbing it all in if you like, with the teammate he didn’t really want and a car that’s obviously patently not a race winner apart from once or twice.”

“And so yeah, I mean given all that road dust, how could you expect him to be absolutely absolutely at his Peak? What I do think is that in a new team like Ferrari, if the car feels really nice underneath him in terms of balance and grip and he’s relaxed in his mind, I think he would still be as quick over one lap as he ever was. What I also think is that if, and we’re seeing it at the moment, if the car doesn’t feel great underneath him, he isn’t going to push it to the same limit that George Russell will take it to,” he concluded.

And it’s not just the others, Lewis himself admitted that self-doubt has started to creep in as he finds himself unable to compete for a race win.

Lewis Hamilton admitted to not being at his best in 2023

The 39-year-old British driver has now gone 2 whole seasons without securing a win, something that had never happened in his career till 2021. Near the end of the last season, Hamilton candidly shared his inner thoughts in an interview with the BBC. He expressed how it’s natural to question oneself during challenging times, pondering whether it’s his skills or the performance of the car that’s lacking.

“When you have difficult seasons like this, there are always going to be moments when you’re like: ‘Is it me, or is it the car? Do you still have it? Has it gone?’“ he wondered. But that’s not all, during the 2023 Hungarian Grand Prix weekend, where he, out of nowhere really, claimed his 104th pole position, Hamilton confessed that he hasn’t been performing at his peak for more than a year. Reflecting on his performance after the race, the Mercedes driver said, “I haven’t been at my best for over a year… I’m really proud of myself and the job that we did yesterday to get pole position, [but] today is just reality. The reality is we are not fast enough.”

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Lewis Hamilton “Not Happy” With Mercedes as Toto Wolff Exposes Key “Weakness”

Do you think Lewis Hamilton will be able to challenge for race wins next year, let alone the championship?