3 reasons why Lewis Hamilton might never win a title again

Lewis Hamilton has lost out to Max Verstappen in an extremely close battle this season. Had he won, it would have made Hamilton the most successful driver in the history of Formula 1 with eight championships to his name. As fate would have it, however, this was not meant to be as Verstappen would pick up his first title in Formula 1.

In the aftermath of his defeat, Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff has alluded to the possibility of Lewis Hamilton never returning to drive in Formula 1. Although that might just be a case of emotions running high at Mercedes, the 2021 season might just have been the last opportunity for Hamilton to win a World Championship.

In this piece, we look at the reasons why Lewis Hamilton might never win a title again.

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Why Lewis Hamilton might never win a title again

#1 New regulations might mean new contenders

The 2022 F1 season is the year when the new set of regulations will kick in. More often than not, a new set of regulations brings about a scenario where new contenders might emerge. Mercedes itself was the beneficiary of regulation changes, when it stole the march on everybody in 2014 and effectively dominated the turbo-hybrid era.

The new season could be an opportunity to achieve something similar for the other teams. This could mean that Mercedes may not be the fastest car on the grid, and should that be the case, then the possibility of Lewis Hamilton winning the title looks bleak.

#2 Max Verstappen was the better driver in 2021

Many were of the opinion that Lewis Hamilton was "robbed" off a title win at the Abu Dhabi GP. Not many, however, disagreed with the fact that Max Verstappen was the better driver compared to Hamilton in 2021. Throughout the season, Verstappen made fewer mistakes and went through his share of unluck, yet, despite having a comparatively slower car, he went into the final race of the season leading the championship.

At just 24 years of age, Verstappen is only going to get better, while Hamilton is closer to the end of his career than many would want to admit. To add to this, the possibility of the 2022 season leading to a bunched up field could only mean that the drivers would have a bigger influence on the results. Should that be the case, the odds are more in favor of Max Verstappen holding the advantage in the coming season.

#3 George Russell could bring an entirely new dynamics at Mercedes

Signing up George Russell as a teammate to Lewis Hamilton was a risk that Mercedes had to take for the 2022 season. Hamilton is in Formula 1 for the next two years and if Mercedes did not have a succession plan in place, they would have been found wanting once he went his own way.

There's no doubt that Mercedes will look at George Russell as that successor. What this also means is that Lewis Hamilton will have a challenger within his own team. A challenger, unlike ex-teammate Valtteri Bottas, that the team looks at as the future of the team.

Going by the history books, should Russell somehow challenge Hamilton in the same car, then it could lead to friction within the team. Hamilton has not had the best of relationships with teammates that were able to challenge him, be it Jenson Button in 2011, or the more infamous relationship with Nico Rosberg in 2016.

With Russell being regarded as the future at Mercedes, it could lead to a new set of dynamics for Hamilton, one that he might not entirely like.