Lewis Hamilton issues sharp criticism to 'older' F1 drivers who 'didn’t achieve much'

Lewis Hamilton has taken aim at some of the "older guys" in F1 for being "negative" towards drivers early in their careers.

The seven-time F1 drivers' champion argued that the culprits often "didn't achieve much" during their time in the series.

Apparently directed towards former racers, many of whom are now pundits, the Ferrari driver shared his desire to celebrate the generation coming through the ranks behind him.

Hamilton has endured criticism throughout his career, often from the elder statesmen of F1, including ex-owner and CEO Bernie Ecclestone.

With a large cohort of rookies racing in the championship for the first time in 2025, their progress throughout the season has been a key talking point.

Speaking to media, including RacingNews365, at the recent São Paulo Grand Prix, Hamilton shared his feelings on the latest crop, saying: "It’s great to see young talent coming through.

"You know, I remember getting here [to F1] in 2007 and being one of them.

"It’s an amazing experience, but before you get here, you have all these preconceived ideas of what it would be like and most often, it kind of doesn’t equal to what you amounted it to be.

"Maybe the driving does, but then there’s all the other things that are around, and the pressure is hugely high, and these youngsters are getting bombarded with questions and obviously the social media. But I think they’ve all been handling it really, really well."

The current crop

Isack Hadjar, Gabriel Bortoleto, Oliver Bearman and Kimi Antonelli, who took Hamilton's old seat at Mercedes, have all impressed, whilst Liam Lawson and Franco Colapinto are showing signs of improvement in their first full seasons.

Only the sidelined Jack Doohan has so far failed to make the grade, after being supplanted in the second Alpine car by Colapinto, who will continue alongside Pierre Gasly in 2026.

Lawson is in the fight to keep his Racing Bulls seat, but has displayed flashes of the pace that Red Bull has been calling for and is widely believed to be in a shoot-out for his F1 future with Yuki Tsunoda.

"I’ve really always wanted to be a driver that’s… even when I leave here, I will always be someone that’s supporting the young, the youth," Hamilton explained.

"You know, you hear so many of these negative things coming from these older guys, these older drivers that more often than not, didn’t achieve much as it is.

"And I think I just love to see these guys that, just keeping their heads down, doing it with a smile and doing what they love and succeeding. So I’m as excited to see the progression of their careers."