Lewis Hamilton dealt painful blow to F1 abilities

Former F1 driver and Season 3 Formula E champion Lucas di Grassi believes Lewis Hamilton is "not at the peak" of his technical abilities anymore, but remains one of the greatest of all-time. 

Hamilton has endured a difficult start to life as a Ferrari driver, following one of the biggest moves in the history of the pinnacle of motorsport. 

Due to the size of the transfer, the seven-time world champion was immediately met with wild expectations from the media and supporters. 

Unfortunately, both he and Ferrari have found the opening six rounds difficult, although a sprint victory was brilliantly claimed in China. 

The ambition for Hamilton is still to become an unprecedented eight-time world champion; however, di Grassi has pointed out that the Briton must dig deeper than ever.

"I think it has to do with aging, but it also has to do with how hungry he is," Di Grassi told RacingNews365 during an interview, when discussing Hamilton's current performance.

"How many millions he has in the bank account, how much he really wants a title, is he able to compromise his whole life now the way he used to when he wanted his first title, how much time he spent on the simulator?

"I think there is a lot of things, yes. And I think age and progress in the career is part of this, right? It's very unusual, what one of the things that strikes me more about being analogous to another sport, right?

"Like Nadal, the guy won [the French Open] 14 times, and he played every single point like it's the point of his life. If he loses that point, he's like, he's not going to eat the next day. So being as hungry as Nadal is in tennis in every single point, also makes a big, big difference here.

"Being able to sacrifice everything, and as you grow old, you have your family, you made your career, you have other opportunities. So it depends a lot on the psychology of different people, and I'm 100% sure that Lewis is not at the peak in terms of his technical abilities."

Hamilton 'one of the greatest ever'

Di Grassi has known the Ferrari driver throughout his life, having competed against Hamilton in karting, F3, F2 and briefly in F1.

In the Brazilian's eyes, Hamilton will always be one of the greatest F1 drivers of all-time, despite being past his peak.

"But that does not mean because he's one of, in my opinion, one of the greatest ever drivers in history," added Di Grassi. 

"And I grew up with him. So I know him from karting, Formula 3 together, Formula 2 together and Formula 1 together.

"So I know him very well. He is one of the greatest drivers ever to live. So that's why he can have this. And people expect a very, very high level from him, but you have to understand that it's not only about the abilities."