Lewis Hamilton told to ‘get on his bike’ and ‘hurry’ to win 8th title as Verstappen hunts him down

Henry Valantine
Lewis Hamilton, with the Formula 1 logo behind him in Bahrain.

Lewis Hamilton walking with the Formula 1 logo behind him.

Lewis Hamilton should “get on his bike and hurry up” to win a record-breaking eighth World Championship, according to Eddie Jordan, as he believes Max Verstappen could well end up winning as many as 10 titles in his own right.

Hamilton equalled Michael Schumacher’s record of seven World titles after a dominant 2020 campaign, but lost out the following year to Verstappen after a controversial Abu Dhabi finale.

The Red Bull driver dominated the 2022 season, however, winning the title by 146 points as Hamilton struggled to keep pace in a troublesome Mercedes that could not challenge for victories regularly – leading him to the first winless season of his Formula 1 career.

Hamilton has maintained his desire to continue in Formula 1 beyond the end of his current Mercedes contract, which expires at the end of this year, though no agreement has yet been confirmed.

The Briton has voiced his frustration at the lack of pace of his new car for this season, having finished a distant fifth place in both races so far in 2023 and Red Bull appearing to hold a significant pace advantage over the chasing pack at this early stage.

Former eponymous Formula 1 team principal Jordan explained that, with time on Verstappen’s side to catch and perhaps even surpass Hamilton’s current title total, combined with his “ridiculous” speed, the Mercedes driver will need to get a move on if he is to add to his tally before the end of his career.

“He adores and loves his racing, and remember, he’s been doing this since five or six years of age – so I don’t know where he gathers up the total commitment every weekend, to gather up the excitement to keep doing it time and time again,” Jordan said of Hamilton on the Formula For Success podcast.

“So I would forgive him if he decided to stop. I’d support him on that. If he decides to go ahead, I want to see that he has at least a chance to fight for races because that eighth World Championship has to be in the back of his mind.

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“He knows he’s equalled what Michael Schumacher has, but let’s be very clear about this. We look into the future, if everything stays well with Max, and I’m hoping that it will both mentally, physically and everything to do with the car, then Max is going to hit 10 World Championships – because he’s that young and he’s that good and you know what he’s like, how fast is he? He’s just ridiculous, how good he is.

“So I think Lewis needs to get on his bike and hurry up and get number eight, because it’s soon to be passed up by Max in any case.

“Would I say should he go? He has to see how this new development [goes] with the Mercedes and really how truthful or how honest that Toto [Wolff] can be, of what he knows can be developed within the car because it’s going to be a huge ask to get that car up to the level of Red Bull.

“And I say the same thing and include all the other cars, including Aston Martin, but in particular with Ferrari, they’re all fighting for second place at the moment. And that’s how I see it happening.”