Lewis Hamilton urged to finally quit F1: 'It's sad to see his struggle'

Former F1 driver Derek Daly has suggested Lewis Hamilton should call time on his career after his challenging opening season at Ferrari.

Hamilton failed to register a single podium throughout the year, the first time in his career he has gone an entire season without registering a top-three finish.

The seven-time champion labelled the campaign as the most difficult he has endured, leading to speculation he soon may look to hang up his helmet.

Daly has asserted Hamilton's difficult run of form will not improve, citing his technical abilities at his age simply can't compare to his younger days.

“Hamilton undoubtedly is the greatest F1 driver ever,” Daly exclusively told RacingNews365.

“I think he's better than [Michael] Schumacher. However, it's not going to get better for him. It's a physiological thing. At 40 plus years of age, you're not going to run as well as 18, 19 and 20-year-olds.

“I’m sorry, that's just a physiological thing. It’s nothing to do with talent and how brilliant you were, but it's the ‘you were’ that’s the problem.

“Hamilton’s great glory days are over. It's not going to get better. If he doesn't retire, whoever made the decision to bring him there may end up being fired.

“This is too big a stage to make emotional decisions rule teams.”

Hamilton 'marketing excercise' over for Ferrari

Hamilton was matched up with Charles Leclerc last year, and the duo will remain team-mates in 2026, when fresh technical regulations will come into play.

Leclerc consistently out-paced the Briton, and Daly does not expect the intra-team situation to change this year.

“Hamilton had difficulty up against [Valtteri] Bottas at times, up against George Russell at times, and now almost every weekend, up against Leclerc,” he said.

“It’s not going to get better. He's not going to suddenly get faster, and it's sad for me to see the struggles that he has publicly and the interviews that he has now where he just nods his head says ‘yay or nay’.

“That’s sad to see for a seven-time world champion, but this is not going to get better. Hamilton is not going to win the world championship again.

“He’s not going to win a brace of races against Leclerc. The marketing exercise is now over.

“I’d love to see Hamilton retire and not fill our heads with more qualifying knockouts in Q1, because that is going to happen again.”

Ferrari also struggled to extract performance from the car throughout the year, leading to another disappointing campaign.

Its poor season also invited speculation that Leclerc could opt to walk away from the Italian squad if it is not winning races in 2026.

Daly, however, does not see Leclerc jumping ship so soon.

“I'd say they'll go down the route of trying to poach more talented designers and engineers first before Leclerc leaves.

“He is so emotionally invested in Ferrari, and I understand that, I do. 

“I don't see him leaving in the near future, even if the car is bad.”