Lewis Hamilton is not ‘past his peak’ according to F1 legend Mario Andretti

Former motorsport driver Mario Andretti drew a contrast between Lewis Hamilton and George Russell, and he believes that Hamilton still has the will to race and hasn't lost his peak.

He gave a reason as to why Hamilton is currently losing out on performance and his new and younger Briton teammate is able to outscore him. Like many other analysts, he stated that the car Russell is driving is the most competitive car he has ever driven in Formula 1. Meanwhile for Hamilton, the W13 and W14 have turned out to be the most uncompetitive Mercedes cars.

PlanetF1 quoted Andretti:

"I don’t think Hamilton is past his peak."

"But the difference between he and George Russell is that Russell has never driven a car that is as competitive as the Mercedes."

Lewis Hamilton has been facing a hard time this season, even though it was expected to be much better than 2022. The team still lies where it did last season in terms of performance. Even though Ferrari have dropped down quite a bit, giving space to the Brackley-based outfit, Aston Martin's development easily overtook them and made their way to P2 in the standings.

Andretti referred to the nature of the car Lewis Hamilton is currently driving and said:

"And Lewis Hamilton has never driven a car that’s as uncompetitive as Mercedes is at the moment. Lewis has always had the blessing of being with an extremely competitive car. Look at the McLaren times, when McLaren was at its peak – there he was. Now he has to fight a little bit harder to achieve what was easier to achieve."

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Lewis Hamilton suggested leaving Mercedes by former F1 team owner

Lewis Hamilton has been on the chase for his eighth world championship ever since the 2021 season, and although he came extremely close to winning it that season, he couldn't and has been pulled far back from even the hopes of it.

Former F1 team owner Eddie Jordan suggested that it is time for the Mercedes driver to step out of the team and look for opportunities elsewhere, as he mentioned on the Formula For Success podcast:

"My only concern is that Lewis has to find something else in his mojo now and he needs to get out of there. He needs to move on, just like he did when he was with McLaren. Get out of Mercedes, Lewis. It’s time you reinvented yourself somewhere else."

Lewis Hamilton currently stands fourth in the championship with 56 points. In contrast, his teammate George Russell has managed to pull in only 40 points until now, making him sixth. The unfortunate retirement he faced during the Australian Grand Prix can be regarded as a loss of points, but a long season lies ahead for the team, and much development is expected.