Lewis Hamilton, Sergio Perez and some other members of Formula 1’s old guard have struggled during the 2024 season. The two frontrunners may see it as the worst year of their respective careers.
Hamilton finished outside the top six in the drivers’ championship for the first time after a 17-season streak. That partly reflects the reality that Mercedes were F1’s fourth-fastest team, but George Russell was clearly the better driver at Brackley.
While the points margin between the two ended up at a relatively slender 18 points, Russell destroyed Hamilton in the qualifying head-to-head. A 19-5 defeat represents by far the worst Saturday showing of the 39-year-old’s career.
| DRIVER | AGE | PTS | POS |
| Lewis Hamilton | 39 | 223 | 7th |
| Sergio Perez | 34 | 152 | 8th |
| Fernando Alonso | 43 | 70 | 9th |
| Nico Hulkenberg | 37 | 41 | 11th |
| Kevin Magnussen | 32 | 16 | 15th |
| Daniel Ricciardo | 35 | 12 | 17th |
| Valtteri Bottas | 35 | 0 | 22nd |
Perez, meanwhile, underperformed so severely that Red Bull could rip up his 2025 contract. Max Verstappen outscored him by 285 points – only five short of his record-breaking margin from 2023.
But where Verstappen won 19 races last year, he only took nine victories this time. In that context, the gap is far more embarrassing, regardless of the Dutchman’s status as an all-time great.
Elsewhere, 35-year-old Daniel Ricciardo, who had hoped to replace Perez, lost his RB seat with six races to go. Kevin Magnussen (32) and Valtteri Bottas (35) were let go by Haas and Sauber respectively, though the latter will feel he extracted the most from his car.
Sergio Perez and Lewis Hamilton have struggled to ‘brake and turn at the same time’
Hamilton has only won two races since the start of F1’s ground-effect era in 2022. The consensus is that his driving style doesn’t suit the current generation of cars.
Of course, Mercedes have rarely been in a position to contend for victory – Russell has only won three times himself. But Hamilton may be looking forward to the aerodynamic shift of the 2026 regulation changes nonetheless.
According to Auto Motor und Sport’s Michael Schmidt, Hamilton has found it ‘very difficult’ to manoeuvre his Silver Arrow under braking. Perez, Magnussen and Ricciardo may all have encountered similar issues.
Schmidt believes the sport’s younger drivers have been better able to ‘adapt’. 43-year-old Fernando Alonso and 37-year-old Nico Hulkenberg, both of whom have had excellent seasons, complicate this theory somewhat.
“Hamilton stands a bit on the edge with these cars,” Schmidt said. “It’s very difficult to brake and turn at the same time. Kevin Magnussen had the same problem, probably Daniel Ricciardo and maybe Sergio Perez [too].
“It is the older generation of drivers who find it very difficult to adapt. The young ones have less problems. They are also there in the simulator – so home simulator and practice – and that has taken the wind out of Lewis Hamilton’s sails a bit, you’ve noticed in the last three years.”
How Kimi Antonelli’s Abu Dhabi test times compared to Lewis Hamilton at the same venue
Hamilton has now overtaken Kimi Raikkonen for race starts, climbing to second on the all-time list with 355. His initial two-year Ferrari contract will see him join Alonso in reaching the 400 mark.
Mercedes, though, took the surprise decision to replace him with an untested teenager in Kimi Antonelli. Wolff suspects Hamilton was wary of Antonelli, the rising sensation, when he decided to leave.
The Italian will become the third-youngest driver in the sport’s history when he lines up on the grid in Australia. The contrast to Hamilton really couldn’t be bigger.
Antonelli bettered Hamilton’s qualifying time in the Abu Dhabi test on Tuesday. The Briton didn’t optimise his lap, and the circumstances of his replacement’s time are unknown, but it’s still an encouraging early statement for Mercedes.
