F1 Rumor: With Hamilton showing his age, is Verstappen in play?
Is Lewis Hamilton washed up at 40-years-old, and might we see Max Verstappen leave the failing Red Bull team and replace Hamilton at Ferrari?
–by Mark Cipolloni–
After George Russell wiped the floor with Lewis Hamilton last year, and with Charles Leclerc doing the same this year, is Hamilton too old now and is it time for Ferrari to make a play for arguably the greatest driver in F1 history – Max Verstappen?
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Would Hamilton Resign from Ferrari now that he realizes his better days are behind him?
Hamilton admits he’s “just not doing the job” right now after he qualified ninth in Bahrain, seven places behind Ferrari teammate Charles Leclerc in the identical car. It appears he is beginning to recognize that at 40-years of age, his better days are behind him.
Hamilton was slower than Leclerc in Suzuka and he tried to blame his lack of pace on the fact he did not have the latest Ferrari floor. In Bahrain, he had the latest Ferrari upgrades and the gap to Leclerc grew even larger.
Hamilton sounded like a defeated man on the way back to the pits after his final Bahrain Q3 run, repeatedly shaking his head on the onboard camera as race engineer Riccardo Adami informed him of how far off the pace he was.
When asked what he was apologizing for after qualifying, Hamilton told Sky Sports F1: “Just about my performance. My poor performance.
“There are no reasons. I’m just not doing the job.”
Hamilton’s post-qualifying interview with TheRace.com is revealing:
Question: You don’t seem happy, can you take us through your qualifying session?
Hamilton: It was pretty straightforward. Pretty much just…
Q: Had a deleted lap in Q3, put a little bit of extra pressure on the final run?
Hamilton: It didn’t help but it wasn’t the worst so…
Q: Are you finding the window of performance in this car quite narrow or fluctuating? It must be quite frustrating to try and get the most out of the Ferrari?
Hamilton: I’m just not doing a good job on my side so I just need to keep improving.
Q: New floor is a step, Charles was saying probably isn’t best track to see it, but going in right direction?
Hamilton: Yeah.
Q: What’s possible tomorrow?
Hamilton: Hopefully top five, I’ll try to see if I can get in the top five. We’ll see.
Q: Positive to see Leclerc way up there?
Hamilton: Yeah, clearly the car is good enough.
Q: You came to Ferrari with such hope and optimism, riding a good wave, is this the lowest you’ve felt since joining Ferrari? You’ve looked pretty down?
Hamilton: It’s definitely not a good feeling for sure.
Q: Last week talked about the difference between the two cars, has that been resolved? No issues?
Hamilton: It’s been resolved.
Q: Where do you go from here? What’s the route forward?
Hamilton: I really don’t know, I really don’t know. I don’t have a lot of answers for you guys. Just wasn’t quick today.
Max Verstappen may leave Red Bull
If Max Verstappen is lower than 3rd in the point standings at the summer break, word is that an exit clause in his Red Bull contract will be exercised and the fight will be on to sign Verstappen, between Mercedes, Aston Martin, McLaren and, yes, possibly even Ferrari.
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