F1 steward makes startling Lewis Hamilton claim

F1 steward Derek Warwick has suggested Lewis Hamilton may already be thinking about calling time on his career.

Hamilton made a switch to Ferrari this season following a successful 12-year stint with Mercedes, winning six F1 titles in that time.

However, the 40-year-old has struggled to get up to speed at the Italian squad and is still awaiting his first trip to the podium in red.

Warwick, who has 147 F1 race starts to his name, stated Hamilton underestimated how difficult making the switch to his new team would be.

“I don’t know why Lewis Hamilton can’t get going in a Ferrari,” Warwick told Plejmo. “I think that's an enigma really.

“I think we all saw him moving to Ferrari as a great opportunity to win his eighth world title.

“The car is not to his liking at the minute. Most critics will say he’s a seven-time world champion, 105 grand prix wins, surely you adapt to the car you've got, because Charles has.

“But for some reason he can't get used to it. I think people underestimate, including Lewis, maybe how difficult it is to join a new team.

“How to get used to their systems, their debriefs, getting them to understand what you want and vice versa.”

Hamilton 'already thinking of stopping'

Ferrari has not portrayed itself as a title-contending squad in the opening nine rounds of the campaign.

McLaren has easily outpaced the competition and hold healthy leads in both the drivers' and constructors' championships.

With a major regulation shift coming next year, a late-season title revival from Ferrari is unlikely as teams pool more resources into their 2026 cars.

Should Hamilton continue to languish down the pecking order, Warwick has suggested he could look to hang up his helmet for good.

“The most important thing on the car is probably the steering wheel because there are so many different adjustments you can do to the steering wheel, maybe he hasn't quite got on top of that,” Warwick added.

“Do I want Lewis to win races and challenge for the world championship? Yes. I think he deserves it. I think he deserves that eighth world title.

“It’s not going to happen this year, and I think if it carries on the way it is at the minute, I suspect he's already thinking of stopping.”