Lewis Hamilton expected to retire from F1 earlier than his Ferrari contract duration, according to F1 pundit

Former F1 race winner and Michael Schumacher's younger brother, Ralf Schumacher, shared how Lewis Hamilton could soon hang up his helmet while drawing a comparison to his time in DTM. The 50-year-old had moved to DTM after his F1 venture in 2008 and ended his racing career in 2012, owing to his lack of results in his final year.

Hamilton joined Ferrari on a multi-year contract with the hopes of clinching an elusive eighth drivers' title, and the squad had appeared to be the closest challenger to last year's constructors' championship winner, McLaren. However, the Scuderia got off to a mediocre start in 2025, with the papaya squad having already lapped every other team in the standings.

On the other hand, the Briton did not have an easy time adapting to the new car as he trails Charles Leclerc in both qualifying and race head-to-heads. Recently, Hamilton hit a major roadblock at the Hungarian GP weekend, where the Monegasque qualified on pole, but the seven-time champion qualified a dismal 12th.

This led Lewis Hamilton to claim that he was useless and urged Ferrari to swap him around for another driver. Reflecting on the 40-year-old dip in form, Ralf Schumacher compared the Briton's recent performances with the last leg of his racing career.

He subsequently affirmed his faith in the incumbent Ferrari driver that he would take the tough yet bold step shortly, as he said during the Sky Sports Germany broadcast:

"He's not really getting to grips with the car. He doesn't really know how to cope with it."

"Yes, that's a tendency that happens very, very quickly. I've personally experienced the same thing. That was in the DTM, where I said: 'Okay, there's no point in this anymore.' I handed the car in a year early. I trust him to be able to do it and to do it. Because this is such a bitter disappointment, and he doesn't know what to do. Not immediately, of course, but something like that can always happen."

The gap between Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc has grown to 42 points heading into the summer break.

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"Don't count me out": Lewis Hamilton hopes to set off a comeback in the second half of 2025

Lewis Hamilton after the 2025 F1 Grand Prix of Hungary - Source: Getty

Lewis Hamilton was left dejected after his qualifying effort for the Hungarian GP. While he was unable to move into the points after 70 laps of ruthless racing and being stuck behind the gearbox of Isack Hadjar, the Briton's mood was a tad better on Sunday.

Despite admitting that it was possibly his worst Grand Prix with the squad, where he also ended his points scoring streak at every race weekend in 2025, Hamilton asserted that he will utilise the summer break to recharge and ready up for the next half of the season (via Ferrari):

"It’s been a challenging weekend and one to move on from. We weren’t able to make the progress we hoped for but I’m grateful for the effort everyone in the team put in throughout the weekend. Now we head into the break. I’ll be using the time to reset, recharge and come back stronger. I’m not where I want to be yet, but the fight’s not over - don’t count me out."

Lewis Hamilton enters the summer break with a points tally of 109 points and ranks sixth in the drivers' standings.