Karun Chandhok urges F1 fans to ‘accept’ one thing about Lewis Hamilton in Ayrton Senna comparison

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Lewis Hamilton is approaching the end of his storied time with Mercedes and Karun Chandhok thinks the Briton leaving the team is not the same as the one who joined.

The 39-year-old swapped the chrome of McLaren for the silver of Mercedes back in 2013, in a move many questioned at the time. Yet Hamilton believed it was the right decision, and so it proved to be as the Briton went on to secure six of his seven drivers’ championships so far.

Along with matching Michael Schumacher as the only seven-time champions, Hamilton also set further records with Mercedes. He boasts the most Grand Prix wins (105), pole positions (104), podiums (201), laps in the lead (5,485) and points scored (4,829.5) ever in Formula 1.

Karun Chandhok questions Lewis Hamilton’s motivation at Mercedes in 2024

But Chandhok has now called on Formula 1 fans to ‘accept’ that the Hamilton of today is not the same driver who swept six championships in seven years from 2014 to 2020. Instead, he feels the Briton does not race with the same motivation that took Hamilton to the very top.

The former HRT driver is adamant that it ‘cannot be the same’ for the Stevenage-born ace to only be targeting top-five results at best when he is so accustomed to winning. Hamilton has not stood on a podium since he adopted the win at the Belgian Grand Prix at the end of July.

He sealed a fourth podium in five rounds at Spa after also taking P3 in Spain and in Hungary, plus Hamilton winning a record ninth British Grand Prix, before finishing second on the road to teammate George Russell in Belgium. But his average finish in the seven races since is P6.

READ MORE: The five worst moments of Lewis Hamilton’s career in Formula 1

So, Chandhok is not surprised to see Hamilton’s motivation drop with Mercedes not able to fight McLaren, Ferrari and Red Bull for race wins. He also likens Hamilton’s situation to that of Ayrton Senna in 1993 when he gifted McLaren wins while Williams had the dominant car.

Chandhok told GPblog: “If you go back and read anything from 1993 about Senna, and what some people at the McLaren team said at the time about him, when there was a chance of a victory, Senna was there. That’s why he won five races that year.

“He was a three-time world champion. Where is the motivation to finish in fifth place? What is the use of getting another fifth place? The motivation is different when you can win.

“This is where they are human beings, and we have to accept they’re human beings. For Lewis, the motivation to finish P5 [or] P6, that cannot be the same. They’re not robots.”

Lewis Hamilton is on course for his lowest points return since 2013

It would only be natural for Hamilton’s motivation at Mercedes to drop as he heads towards the exit door. Despite their brief upturn in fortunes before the summer break, when Russell also adopted the win in Austria, the Silver Arrows have seldom matched their leading rivals.

READ MORE: The best moments of Lewis Hamilton’s career in Formula 1

While McLaren, Ferrari and Red Bull battle to win this season’s constructors’ title, Mercedes are 162 points adrift of the top three with three rounds to go. Russell and Hamilton even sit sixth and seventh in the drivers’ championship with a 52-point deficit to the top five places.

This season is also likely to yield Hamilton’s worst points return since 2013, as well. Even he also admitted after the Sao Paulo Grand Prix that Hamilton cannot wait for 2024 to end and be shot of Mercedes’ car as the Briton prepares to partner Charles Leclerc at Ferrari in 2025.