Former FIA steward and Sky F1 pundit Johnny Herbert is questioning whether the “raw pace” is still there in Ferrari driver Lewis Hamilton.
And while it may be “horrible” to say, he argues the “truth” is Ferrari can no longer rely on the seven-time World Champion.
Are Lewis Hamilton’s best days over?
Comparing Hamilton’s situation to how he observed Nigel Mansell and Michael Schumacher fall from the peak of their powers, Herbert believes that if Hamilton were still at his “peak” then he would be doing what “Max Verstappen is doing right now” in extracting the maximum from his car.
Moving from Mercedes to Ferrari was supposed to reinvigorate Hamilton, but so far it has been a challenging experience, with a China Sprint pole and victory the only highlight.
The Spanish Grand Prix was a further blow for Hamilton who was asked to move aside for team-mate Charles Leclerc in the opening stint, Leclerc racing on to a podium finish, while Hamilton was P6 after being overtaken by Sauber’s Nico Hulkenberg late in the race.
With nine rounds gone in F1 2025, Hamilton is 23 points behind Leclerc in the standings, and former F1 driver and steward Johnny Herbert is seriously questioning the ability of Hamilton at this stage.
Hamilton joined Ferrari as Formula 1’s most successful driver with most wins, poles and podiums among the achievements on his CV, plus a record-equalling seven World Championships, though he linked up with Ferrari upon turning 40.
“It just looks like Lewis Hamilton is lost, really lost,” Herbert told InstantWithdrawalBettingSites. “I don’t know if the raw pace that he’s always had throughout his career is there anymore.
“I thought, with the pure racing skill Hamilton had, he’d be able to drive around any problems with the car but he seems stuck in a hole. It’s not nice to see.
“It’s not the first time we’ve seen it in the sport, though.
“Nigel Mansell won his championship in 1992, went to America in 1993, came back in 1994 and it didn’t work anymore for him.