Formula 1 News: Binotto wonders if Hamilton is 'washed up'

(GMM) The jury is out as to whether Lewis Hamilton still has what it takes in Formula 1.

Editor’s Note: Did he ever have it, or was it always that he had the 50hp Mercedes advantage?

That’s the view of Mattia Binotto, who some months ago admitted that if he was still in charge at Ferrari, he would not have ousted Carlos Sainz in favor of the seven time world champion.

Hamilton, 40, left Mercedes at the end of last year, having struggled for form ever since losing the 2021 world championship to Max Verstappen on the very last lap of the calendar.

“He has brought great enthusiasm, passion, and a lot of experience to Ferrari,” Binotto, now in charge at Audi-owned Sauber, told Corriere della Sera newspaper.

“But that alone may not be enough.”

Sauber-Audi team boss Mattia Binotto. Image supplied by Sauber

The Shanghai sprint aside, Hamilton has been behind Charles Leclerc so far in 2025, and after qualifying in Bahrain, the Briton actually apologized to his team on the radio.

“I’m not doing the job,” Hamilton, P9, admitted afterwards. “The car is a lot better than what I’m delivering with it.”

Binotto explained: “We don’t yet know how fast Lewis still is, and this experience will help him understand, since a strong driver adapts quickly.

“In these first races of 2025 we will see what the balance of power with Charles will be and what Charles’s impact will be on him (Hamilton). These are question marks that I won’t get into.”