Lewis Hamilton is 40 years old and is getting towards the back end of his Formula 1 career with Ferrari in 2025.
The seven-time champion is chasing a record eighth drivers’ championship and has been for nearly five years now.
Hamilton’s first season in red hasn’t quite gone to plan so far and he has been left at times to fight in the midfield. He was overtaken by a Sauber recently at the Spanish Grand Prix.
It’s a wake-up call for Ferrari, who must find a way to improve if they want to end their 18-year trophy drought ahead of the 2026 F1 regulations coming into force.
Hamilton has been warned of a bigger ‘problem’ ahead of the upcoming Canadian Grand Prix – a track he has won at seven times in 15 attempts.
Team boss Fred Vasseur made an ‘extreme’ claim about Hamilton and his comments towards the team in Spain. It shows how maybe some frustration is already creeping in at Maranello.
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Fabio Quartararo pinpoints the biggest similarity between Lewis Hamilton and Valentino Rossi
Both Hamilton and Valentino Rossi are arguably the two biggest icons of a very similar era of motorsport, having won at least six titles in each of their disciplines.
Hamilton is repeating his ‘lowest moments’ currently, but he still wants to win. It’s why he hasn’t retired from Formula 1 yet.
It’s that desire to win that 2021 MotoGP champion Fabio Quartararo also sees in Rossi, using his experience of spending time with both stars.
“Yes, in the end, I really like Formula 1. I really like the cars in general. Having the chance to get to know the drivers a bit,” he said.
“In the end, it’s not that we have the same lifestyle, but seeing a bit of how they think, how it’s different from us, and above all, seeing the mentality of someone like Lewis [Hamilton], who in the end has won a lot and you can see that he always has the desire.
“A bit like Vale, who in the end, was the only rider to try until he was 42 years old.”
READ MORE: Ferrari now resigned to accepting Lewis Hamilton’s realisation as Scuderia rush through Canadian Grand Prix upgrades
When might Lewis Hamilton decide to retire from Formula 1?
After struggling for pace for a few seasons, Rossi eventually decided to retire at the age of 42 in 2021, following his worst-ever campaign.
Fortunately, Hamilton isn’t exactly having his worst-ever season, but he hasn’t managed a podium in nine starts in 2025. That’s unusual for him and only happened twice before in his entire career (2009 and 2024).
His current contract is a two-plus-one deal, which means he should be driving for Ferrari in 2026 unless something exceptional happens.
It offers the Brit the chance to retire after next season if the Scuderia continue to struggle and cannot find any improvements.
