Former F1 driver pinpoints crucial Hamilton weakness

Former F1 driver Marc Surer believes Lewis Hamilton's age will stop him from claiming an unprecedented eighth drivers' title. 

Hamilton joined Ferrari at the start of the 2025 F1 season with the ultimate goal of becoming the outright record holder, given he currently shares the feat with Michael Schumacher on seven. 

It has been a mixed start to the Briton's career at the Scuderia, with Hamilton finishing 10th in the season-opener in Australia and then being disqualified from the Chinese Grand Prix on Sunday. 

It was Hamilton's third disqualification of his F1 career due to excessive wear on the plank of his SF-25, with all three measurement points below the legal minimum thickness of nine millimetres. 

The disqualification overshadowed what had been an excellent performance by Hamilton at the Shanghai International Circuit as he claimed pole for the sprint race and converted it into victory. It marked his and Ferrari's first sprint triumph. 

Very few doubt Hamilton will win races over the next couple of seasons as a Ferrari driver, and whilst Surer is a huge fan of he and Charles Leclerc as a pairing, he believes the 40-year-old is too old to win another title.

"Lewis Hamilton in a Ferrari is a big thing," Surer told Makthavare.se. "The most famous F1 driver ever, worldwide, thanks to social media, and Ferrari the most famous team ever. Together, this is a win.

"But the age of Hamilton is against him and I cannot imagine he wins the eighth championship at 40 years old."

Hamilton's other age critic

Surer is not the only person to doubt what Hamilton can still achieve in F1, with Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff commenting on the topic ahead of the season. 

Before Hamilton's Ferrari debut, a remark by Wolff in a book released in November 2024 based on Mercedes' inside story last year caught significant attention. 

In the book, Wolff said that "everyone has a shelf life" when discussing Hamilton's move to Ferrari, a comment the 105-time race winner countered earlier this year. 

"Don't ever compare me to anybody else," he told TIME. "I'm the first and only black driver that's ever been in this sport. I'm built different.

"I've been through a lot, I've had my own journey and you can't compare me to another 40-year-old, past or present Formula 1 driver in history.

"Because they are nothing like me. I'm hungry, driven, I don't have a wife and kids. I'm focused on one thing, and that's winning. That is my number one priority."