Johnny Herbert believes Ferrari have failed to revive Lewis Hamilton in Formula 1, arguing that the seven time Formula 1 World Champion is now past his peak and no longer able to drag performance from a difficult car as he once did.
Herbert said the signs are written all over the Ferrari driver’s demeanour and performances: “Hamilton is lost and I don’t see a bounce back from him. Lewis is deflated and he’s very confused with what’s happened this year because he hasn’t been able to drive around the problem which he was able to do in his younger years in F1.”
For Herbert, this is the classic tipping point that arrives even for the greatest: “Even the best drivers get to a point where they have a peak and then they pass that peak and then they either stay at that level and everybody else gets better or they begin to wane.
I think we are at a point where Lewis is at a certain level but we’ve got Max [Verstappen], we’ve got Lando [Norris], we’ve got Oscar [Piastri], we’ve got Kimi [Antonelli], we’ve got George [Russell], they’re improving.
“They have all improved over the last couple of years and Lewis has struggled over the last couple of years. He struggled with George and he’s struggling once again with Charles [Leclerc],” explained Herbert, pointing out that Russell beat Hamilton during their final year together at Mercedes, in 2024.
Ferrari dream has not gone to script
Herbert said Hamilton’s body language tells the same story as the lap times. “You can read into his face and read into his comments and he is lost. He’s very frustrated with it. And I get that. He’s a man that’s achieved those seven World Championships.
“He was always one of the most competitive men from when he came into F1 when he was up against the two-time World Champion, Fernando Alonso, and basically beat him that season and nearly won the championship.”
Herbert believes Hamilton has now hit the wall every elite sportsman eventually finds: “It’s not happening for him and a driver gets very frustrated when that happens. But there is a point where unfortunately it comes to all sportsmen where they lose that something.
“He doesn’t feel it but it just happens and he’s not able to find a way around the problem that he’s got,” Herbert said, before repeating his bleak verdict: “I don’t see a bounce back. I think it’s the end of Hamilton. Ferrari hasn’t rebooted him enough.”
Can Hamilton bounce back?
Pressed on whether he really believes this is the final chapter at the top level for Hamilton, he doubled down: “Yes, I think. I think we’ve got to that point where we have seen the very best of Lewis and those days are passed.”
Herbert pointed to Hamilton’s recent public comments as further proof of a driver who feels cornered: “His morale is low, and when he speaks out as he has done it doesn’t help his own morale. He never used to comment like he does now. That again shows the level of frustration he is feeling. It is not an ideal scenario for Ferrari to be hearing that. But Charles [Leclerc] is not happy and is saying the same thing.”
The key difference, Herbert said, is that Leclerc has still managed to deliver: “But Charles has been able to deliver some good results, whereas Lewis hasn’t been able to quite achieve that. It’s Charles who is the one who’s on top of a bad situation while Lewis is struggling.”
For Herbert, the much hyped move from Mercedes to Maranello has simply not done what many in the paddock expected: “We all thought it was going to be a perfect match between Lewis and Ferrari that would refresh him after his move from Mercedes after many years. We thought it was going to reboot things but sadly it hasn’t rebooted enough.”
Notably, bookmakers are offering odds now on Hamilton retiring, with next year being top of the list.
