Lewis Hamilton... better to burn out than to fade away

[McL-H]

Ah it so difficult witnessing the mighty fall. In my opinion he should just end the misery right after Abu Dhabi. He has gotten too old to be competitive enough for F1. Russell had become to good for him and now Leclerc is equally washing his ears. Even if the Ferrari is competitive next year, he still hasn’t shown any sign of being able to beat Leclerc. So what’s the point? I can’t witness another season of a once mighty champ getting knocked down like that.

[cliffgamerz]

Ah it so difficult witnessing the mighty fall. In my opinion he should just end the misery right after Abu Dhabi. He has gotten too old to be competitive enough for F1. Russell had become to good for him and now Leclerc is equally washing his ears. Even if the Ferrari is competitive next year, he still hasn’t shown any sign of being able to beat Leclerc. So what’s the point? I can’t witness another season of a once mighty champ getting knocked down like that.

It remains to be seen next year, next year we wont have ground effect cars, so many drivers who preferred the handling of ground effect cars might not be good next year, as we have seen in last 4 years Hamilton's performance wasn't great, so there is slight glimmer of hope, but then it remains to be seen, if he is still way behind his teammate then its time to hang his helmet.

[CHT]

Just painful to watch what is going on to LH at the moment.
Ferrari is just not the right team for under performing drivers.
Even if SF26 turn out to be a good car, there is no guarantee he will be quicker than Charles.
What LH need now is to find a soft landing for his career to avoid destroying his legacy and brand value.

[f1isgood]

I am still unsure what the point is, of waiting for next regulations. You don't magically just find pace against a strong teammate. When has it happened that after a regulation change some driver stayed and actually found pace? He got outqualified 19-5 this year and last year. Nothing is likely to change next year.

A terrible investment from Ferrari but the signs were obviously there even when they signed him, so the outcome is not surprising.

At this point it hurts to watch him drive.

No one escapes father time. Nothing specific to Hamilton.

[gcdugas]

Who would best replace Lewis at Ferrari if he retires?

Carlos? But why would he come back knowing they will replace him in a year?
Oscar wouldn't be so foolish.
Bearman is still very green and doesn't have the potential that Kimi has which is why MB could stake so much on him as a rookie.

[hollus]

Driver thread, usual early closure before the mudslinging

Still open I think

I forgot the extra clicks… fixed now.