Lewis Hamilton is now facing the same ‘painful’ problem that saw Daniel Ricciardo retire from F1

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At 40 years old, Lewis Hamilton is the second-oldest driver currently on the Formula 1 grid behind Fernando Alonso.

Between Lewis Hamilton and Fernando Alonso, they are closing in on 800 combined Grand Prix starts, which is a remarkable feat.

Hamilton and Alonso are confirmed to be racing for Ferrari and Aston Martin, respectively, in 2026, but that doesn’t mean there hasn’t been speculation about how long they’ll be racing in Formula 1.

There are suggestions that Alonso won’t continue beyond 2026 at Aston Martin, although if Adrian Newey builds a championship-winning car, he’ll be desperate to extend his stay on the grid.

Hamilton controls a 2027 clause in his Ferrari contract, but whether he triggers it and wants to continue beyond that season is yet to be seen.

The last driver to lose his seat and show no interest in racing anymore was Daniel Ricciardo.

Valtteri Bottas and Sergio Perez both dropped off the grid in 2024, and while they’ll be back next year, Ricciardo had no interest in signing for Cadillac.

The Australian’s old Alpine boss, Marcin Budkowski, has been speaking about Hamilton’s fortunes this year and explained why they now remind him of Ricciardo before he lost his RB seat at last year’s Singapore Grand Prix.

READ MORE: Five worst moments of Lewis Hamilton’s F1 career including Chinese GP woe and Italian GP disaster

Lewis Hamilton’s Ferrari struggles compared to Daniel Ricciardo before his F1 exit

Budkowski was speaking on the F1 Nation Podcast and asked about the seven-time world champion, he said: “I think he’s not satisfied with his own performance and respect to Lewis for admitting this and just being open to the press and just saying, ‘I’m not happy with the way I’m driving and I need to do better.’

“It’s difficult to change cars and teams after such a long and successful career. I think he still has the appetite for it, but is he mentally flexible enough? Is his brain elastic enough?

“I’m sure it’s more like frustration rather than pressure.

“He’s just not happy with where he’s at. It reminds me a little bit of Daniel Ricciardo, whom I’ve worked with at Renault, and I’ve always had a very good relationship with.

“He was really quick at Renault, and he has a lot of talent. Seeing his misery at McLaren was painful, and his return to Racing Bulls.

“There’s a point where you overthink everything. We’re talking about having fun or being more natural. There’s a point where you start to overthink every corner entry, every corner exit.

“That car, the McLaren, wasn’t adapted to Daniel’s driving style for some reason. He tried so hard to change his driving style to adapt it to the car after trying to set up the car differently, but it didn’t work.

“He actually lost his mojo, his driving style, and he just couldn’t drive naturally.”

READ MORE: Best moments of Daniel Ricciardo’s F1 career including first pole, podium, win and more

How Daniel Ricciardo’s return to AlphaTauri is mirroring Lewis Hamilton’s start at Ferrari

Budkowski was then asked about the final moments of Ricciardo’s career and how they relate to Hamilton now, and explained: “When he came back to a car that was different again, the AlphaTauri, that year. He just couldn’t get his driving back because he was overthinking everything.

“I think in Lewis’s case, he is still adapting to that Ferrari. He can’t quite get the maximum out of it as Charles is capable of doing on a regular basis. He starts to think, What should I do differently?

“We’re talking about Lewis Hamilton, and he’s been here in F1 for like 20 years, and he’s trying to overthink his driving style, and I think that’s the beginning of that bad spiral.

“But equally, he has to because otherwise it doesn’t exactly perform the way he wants. I think that’s where he’s at.

“He’s a little bit at a loss with it, and sometimes he manages to get it right and sometimes he doesn’t.”

It’s not the first time that Hamilton’s difficulties have been compared to the eight-time race winner.

Marc Priestley compared Hamilton’s Mercedes struggles to Ricciardo’s at the end of last season, while Hamilton led tributes to Ricciardo when his exit from RB was confirmed.

Hamilton will hope the upcoming regulation changes inspire better results, but as Budkowski suggested, the ‘spiral’ that can take effect at the end of a driver’s career can often by impossible to escape.