"Most likely, Jeremy Clarkson is past his prime": Fans react to the Top Gear star claiming Lewis Hamilton is past his prime

F1 fans reacted to former Top Gear presenter Jeremy Clarkson's bold opinion, as he stated Lewis Hamilton was too old and that his peak years in the sport had passed.

Ever since 2021, when Hamilton lost the world championship to Max Verstappen, he has not been able to perform at the highest level. In 2022, Mercedes suffered with massive car issues, particularly porpoising. This affected the seven-time world champion. Later, he received strong competition from George Russell, his new teammate. Before 2024 F1 season, Ferrari announced that they hired Hamilton from 2025 onwards.

Because of his subpar performances after 2021, Jeremy Clarkson felt that Hamilton's age has finally caught up to him and he was no longer in his prime. He talked about the Brit's performance in the 2024 Brazilian GP qualifying.

"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 [Mercedes] are filling his fuel tank with lemon barley water instead of petrol. But that seems unlikely. It’s far more probable that he’s now too old,” Clarkson wrote on The Sun.

Many F1 fans were unimpressed with Clarkson's comment on Lewis Hamilton. They clapped back at the Top Gear's ex-host and, instead, said that he was getting too old.

"Most likely, Jeremy Clarkson is past his prime," one fan wrote.

"This is an L for Jeremy, Lewis clearly explained the shortfalls of the car and he did very well not to crash once, when so many, including Alonso, binned it!" another added.

Some fans were eager to see Lewis Hamilton perform well in Ferrari and stated that his performances will shut down opinions like the one coming from Jeremy Clarkson.

"Next season at Ferrari Lewis Hamilton will show the world why Jeremy Clarkson is talking rubbish," one follower hoped.

"He’s unstoppable on his day. Let’s wait and see what he can do in red…," another fan chimed in.

In the 2024 F1 season so far, Hamilton won two races. He first won at his home Grand Prix in Silverstone, and then in Belgium after George Russell was disqualified from the top position.

His recent performance at Brazil was quite dull as he was unable to secure a decent grid spot during qualifying. He started the race from P14 and somehow managed to finish P10. Despite being excellent in wet conditions, Hamilton was unable to move up the grid and struggled with his car.

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Lewis Hamilton hints that he is mentally checked out of the 2024 F1 season after Brazilian GP

After the Brazilian GP, Lewis Hamilton hinted that his focus had shifted to next year with Ferrari and he does not care where he finishes in the drivers' championship table.

Speaking to the media, including Motorsport.com, he said that he was not bothered about the 2024 F1 season since he knew he was not going to win the title this year. He added that he was not concerned whether he finished above or below his teammate, George Russell.

“I just put my focus on something else. I'm not fighting for the championship. Doesn't matter, really, where we finish in the championship. I don't care if I finish ahead of [team-mate] George [Russell] or behind George. It doesn't make any difference to me," Hamilton said.

Lewis Hamilton is currently seventh in the drivers' championship with 190 points.