Lewis Hamilton in danger of 'tarnishing F1 legacy' after 'nightmare' Ferrari debut

Lewis Hamilton has been warned that he risks "tarnishing his legacy" in F1 if he continues on, following a dismal first year with Ferrari.

Hamilton's hotly anticipated move to Maranello did not yield the expected results, with the Briton scoring just 156 points, failing to score a single grand prix podium and being comprehensively beaten by team-mate Charles Leclerc. 

Hamilton did win the Chinese GP Sprint, but this proved to be a false dawn as he struggled to adapt to the Ferrari, warning as early as Saudi Arabia that the problems could continue all season, before branding the campaign "a nightmare" following the Sao Paulo GP. 

Coming off the back of his third winless season in four, ahead of F1 rules reset in 2026, F1 race winner Johnny Herbert believes Hamilton should be asking himself the "very hard" question over his future.

"Yes, Lewis is in danger of tarnishing his legacy, and this is probably horrible to say, but it's probably the start of that," Herbet told NewBettingSites.UK 

"It's been so poor, and it's been so poor for everybody to see for him.

"It’s not as if it's happened to both drivers. It’s only happened to one, and there is a point, and it's a very hard point to know when to choose to stop.

"Nico Rosberg gets a lot of criticism for bowing out like he did, winning the World Championship, saying: 'Enough is enough', and leaving on a high.

"Then you have others that hang on and never get that opportunity ever again.

"The more you sort of try and think I can do, sometimes you need to take three steps back and accept: ‘No. It’s not the same as it was.’

"That sadly seems to be here, Lewis. It’s not just a few back weekends. It’s been pretty much every weekend.

"The big difficulty that Lewis has is how he turns around his worst-ever year in F1. 

"When you see him interviewed, it is a Lewis I have never seen before. He just seems to be completely lost and crushed."