Damon Hill reveals whether he thinks Lewis Hamilton will ever win another F1 title with Ferrari

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Lewis Hamilton joined Ferrari in the hope that he could win an eighth world championship, but it appears as though his first season with the Scuderia is going to end with a whimper.

Ferrari were resigned to finishing fourth in the constructors’ championship after a dire Qatar Grand Prix for Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc.

Hamilton has now failed to progress through Q1 at each of his last three attempts, immediately putting him on the back foot going into every race.

He failed to score in Qatar, with Charles Leclerc only just squeaking into the points in both the Sprint Race and Sunday’s Grand Prix.

Hamilton has been trying to adapt to life at Ferrari ever since his move over the winter break from Mercedes.

There are already suggestions that Hamilton might not be impressed with Ferrari’s 2026 car.

But, 1996 world champion Damon Hill is still confident that if Ferrari can develop a race-winning car next season, then there’s no reason why Hamilton can’t add to his illustrious set of Formula 1 championships.

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Damon Hill tells Ferrari how they can make Lewis Hamilton an eight-time F1 champion

Hill was taking part in an interview with The Times during the Qatar Grand Prix weekend.

When speaking about Hamilton, he said: “It’s been brutal for Lewis. He has been in the wars ever since Abu Dhabi.

“It knocked the stuffing out of him. I do believe if you give him the right car, he has got another championship in him, but he is having to dig really deep now.

“I do feel for him. I know he doesn’t want sympathy, but he might just have to accept it may never happen.

“I think he has got one more bite at the cherry. If next year’s car is no good, I don’t see how he can keep going on.”

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Lewis Hamilton left frustrated during nightmare Qatar Grand Prix weekend

Hamilton admitted after the race that the crash between Nico Hulkenberg and Pierre Gasly ruined his chances of getting into the points from the ninth row of the grid.

Every driver, except the two McLaren drivers and Esteban Ocon, pitted on lap seven when the safety car came out, meaning that no driver had any flexibility in their strategies.

Hamilton was heard on the radio asking how many positions he lost, as Ferrari double-stacked their drivers, meaning he was stuck behind Leclerc in the pit lane waiting to change his tyres.

After the race, Hamilton sent a warning to Ferrari about their preparations for next season.

There have been suggestions that some within Ferrari haven’t been impressed by Hamilton’s suggestions, as he made it clear as early as the Belgian Grand Prix that he’s been providing instructions to the team on how to move forward.

Ultimately, he’s got far more experience of winning titles and being in a winning environment than many of Ferrari’s current staff members.

Plenty of Ferrari staff would have moved on since they last won the championship in 2008, while Hamilton can bring plenty of expertise from Mercedes’ dominant reign in the 2010s.