“Lewis Hamilton is past his prime”: 64-yo British broadcaster compares Mercedes legend to “greatest” Max Verstappen

After analyzing Lewis Hamilton's performance during the 2024 F1 Brazilian Grand Prix, Jeremy Clarkson has claimed that the Briton is "past his prime." He also mentioned that Max Verstappen might as well be the "greatest" driver in the sport.

Hamilton dominated the grid in the early turbo-hybrid era with Mercedes, winning six championships with them and tying himself up for the most Drivers' championships (at 7 with Michael Schumacher). However, his performance has been quite different post the 2021 season.

While Mercedes looked strong in some races of the current season, the Brazilian GP was a constant struggle for Hamilton. He repeatedly radioed his team to report persistent ride issues.

Jeremy Clarkson, reviewing the Grand Prix, first of all praised Max Verstappen for his drive from P17 to victory.

"First of all, Max Verstappen is one of the all-time greats. He may even be the greatest driver we’ve ever seen," he wrote. And second, Lewis Hamilton is past his prime."

"He blamed his car for his tail-end qualifying session but his team mate, George Russell, was on the front row. Of course it’s possible that because Lewis is moving to Ferrari next year, the team are filling his fuel tank with lemon barley water instead of petrol. But that seems unlikely," Clarkson added.

"It’s far more probable that he’s now too old," he concluded.

Lewis Hamilton's first win of the season came at Silverstone, his first victory since the 2021 Saudi Arabian Grand Prix. He followed this up with another strong performance in Belgium, initially finishing P2 behind teammate George Russell, who was later disqualified due to a post-race technical infringement.

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"I need to look at the next generation": Toto Wolff on giving Lewis Hamilton a 1+1 contract

Lewis Hamilton's contract with Mercedes was set to expire at the end of the 2023 season. He was then given a 1+1 contract till the end of the 2025 season. This was assessed as one of the reasons for his decision to move to Ferrari in 2025. He used a clause that allowed him to leave the team in the second year of the contract.

Discussing this condition in his book, Toto Wolff wrote that he signed Hamilton on a 1+1 contract as he believes that everyone has a "shelf life" and he had too keep an eye out for youngsters.

"There’s a reason why we only signed a one-plus-one-year contract," Wolff wrote. "We’re in a sport where cognitive sharpness is extremely important, and I believe everyone has a shelf life."

"So I need to look at the next generation. It’s the same in football. Managers like Sir Alex Ferguson or Pep Guardiola. They anticipated it in the performance of their top stars and brought in junior players that drove the team for the next years," he added

Their junior Formula 2 driver Andrea Kimi Antonelli will race alongside George Russell in the 2025 season as Lewis Hamilton will replace Carlos Sainz at Ferrari. Sainz, on the other hand, will move to Williams Racing.