Lewis Hamilton warned of Ferrari scenario which would mean ‘it’s over’

Failing to find the form that carried him to seven titles before F1’s ground-effect era, Guenther Steiner says if Lewis Hamilton doesn’t get it right next year, “it’s over.”

A seven-time World Champion with 103 grand prix wins and 104 pole positions, Hamilton went into the 2022 season determined to regain the Drivers’ title that he’d lost to Max Verstappen a year prior.

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But alas, the wheels came off.

While Red Bull nailed the ground-effect aerodynamic regulations, led by design guru Adrian Newey who is said to “see air,” Mercedes floundered.

Hamilton recorded just two additional grand prix wins and one pole position in his three years in the ground-effect era with Mercedes, with the finger often pointed at the Brackley team’s F1 cars.

Hamilton, though, isn’t faring any better in his first championship with Ferrari.

The 40-year-old is yet to reach the podium, never mind record a grand prix win, and sits sixth in the Drivers’ Championship where he’s 42 points behind Charles Leclerc.

His form has seen the Briton’s head drop in the last two races, where he declared “I’m useless, absolutely useless” in Hungary, adding that Ferrari “probably need to change driver.”

Hamilton’s former team principal Toto Wolff put the Briton’s struggles down to the characteristics of today’s cars, telling the media, including PlanetF1.com: “We never got happy with the ground-effect car, in the same way it [affects] him. Maybe it is linked to driving style.”

But if that’s the case, next season should be better for Hamilton.

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Formula 1 is undergoing a complete reset next season, putting all-new cars and engines on the grid. Cars, most importantly for Hamilton, that move away from ground-effect aerodynamics.

Next year’s cars will reduce the impact of ground effect on the cars by introducing active aerodynamics on the front and rear wings, and significantly simpler floor designs.

Former Haas F1 team boss Steiner believes it is a make-or-break season for Hamilton that will determine whether he continues with Ferrari into 2027.

“With the new ground-effect cars,” he told web.de, “Lewis struggled from the start. And in 2026 there will be new cars, new engines and no one knows who will be strong then.

“Maybe he says, ‘I’ll take that with me [into 2026]’. But if that doesn’t work either, then it’s over.

“Even if not from one day to the second. If he wanted to quit, he would communicate this in good time so that the team has time to find a replacement.”

But with 10 races remaining this season, Hamilton is under pressure to perform – mainly from himself.

His increasing negativity about his own performances has raised eyebrows in the paddock, with pundits openly sympathising with his plight.

Steiner says he’d tell Hamilton to shrug it off, both his internal criticism and the comments coming from the outside, and focus on just doing his best, grand prix after grand prix.

“Clearly, grit your teeth, give it your all, but don’t get too mental,” replied Steiner when asked for his advice for the driver. “Not constantly thinking about what others think or say.

“If you can’t beat Charles, try to stick with him. The biggest enemy is internal pressure. And at the moment he is trying too much. He wants to force it.

“But if you know that the performance is not fully there, then just make the best of it and you will see: looseness, confidence, rhythm come back.”

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