Ralf Schumacher heard a Lewis Hamilton comment in Las Vegas that suggests he should retire from F1

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Lewis Hamilton’s comments after the Las Vegas Grand Prix added to the growing amount of evidence that his first season as a Ferrari driver has lived up to his ‘terrible’ assessment.

Ferrari look set to finish fourth in the constructors’ championship this season after coming so close to beating McLaren last year.

Chairman John Elkann tried to pass the blame onto Charles Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton, rather than blame Ferrari’s engineers and team principal Fred Vasseur.

Hamilton is yet to secure a Grand Prix podium since joining Ferrari, while Leclerc has also failed to win a race in 2025 despite securing seven top-three finishes this season.

After the Las Vegas Grand Prix, the seven-time world champion was so downbeat in the media pen that Hamilton had to field questions about his immediate F1 future.

Hamilton has a Ferrari contract for next season and beyond, but Ralf Schumacher has admitted that he heard one comment from the 40-year-old that has made him question whether he should retire from Formula 1 after the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix.

READ MORE: Ferrari driver Lewis Hamilton’s life outside F1 from net worth to family

Ralf Schumacher suggests it’s ‘time to stop’ for Lewis Hamilton after Las Vegas comment

Schumacher was speaking about Hamilton on the Backstage Boxengasse podcast after his P8 finish in Las Vegas. He said: “Ferrari has done this twice before, agreeing with drivers and then replacing them.

“Lewis Hamilton is, of course, a seven-time world champion, but that doesn’t matter if the performance isn’t right.

“I have to say, that’s why he was so frustrated. He realised that he was at his limit again, that he just wasn’t fast enough.

“And to be honest, if it ends like this and it’s the same on the last two races, then we should really encourage him to perhaps make way for someone who still has their whole future ahead of them, someone who can also help Ferrari move forward in the future.

“He’s not dependent on Formula 1, because one thing I have to say is that you can see it in him. That’s how it is, and I know myself what it’s like.

“I hear people say, you’re bashing Hamilton, so let’s put that aside, because I really wish him well, but still, it does something to people when he says, yes, I try, I try, and the more I try, the worse it gets from his point of view, and that’s just a sign that, as I often say, the film is too fast now.

“For some reason, he can’t bring it all together anymore. He no longer has that harmony over an entire lap, and he no longer has that feel-good factor in the car, those processes of braking, accelerating, shifting gears and so on.

“In other words, being at his optimum. And that’s simply the point where, as a driver, you have to say, OK, I think it’s time to stop.”

READ MORE: All you need to know about Scuderia Ferrari from team principal to factory

Lewis Hamilton was very downbeat in the Las Vegas Grand Prix media pen

It’s easy to understand why Hamilton was so upset after the third-to-last race of the 2025 Formula 1 season.

He became the first Ferrari driver in 15 years to qualify last for a Grand Prix after being caught out during a miserable qualifying session.

Hamilton could only recover to 10th on the road before benefiting from the double disqualification of both McLaren drivers.

The Ferrari driver was so distraught that he suggested he wasn’t even looking forward to next season with the Scuderia, which is what has alerted Schumacher to Hamilton potentially walking away.

Hamilton received advice from Sebastian Vettel before joining Ferrari, but like the four-time world champion, right now it’s hard to see him adding to his incredible CV while racing for the team.