F1 pundit reveals how a "40 year old" Lewis Hamilton loses out against the younger generation

Lewis Hamilton's age has often been a talking point within the paddock whenever the 40-year-old has not performed up to expectations, as F1 expert Peter Windsor reveals the reason behind Hamilton's pace deficit to the younger generation. The 73-year-old talks about the possible internal monologue that goes on inside the Briton's mind whenever he tries to ring the neck out of the SF-25.

The seven-time champion was at the top of F1 a few years ago and is the greatest driver to have ever graced the grid statistically. However, with age often being a factor in an athlete's sporting career, the same question has been raised over Hamilton time and again.

The Briton trails Charles Leclerc in the intra-team head-to-head as the Monegasque has the upper hand in both qualifying and race spheres. Exploring the reason behind Hamilton's age holding him back in comparison to the younger drivers, Windsor said:

"I did say that one of the biggest problems Lewis [Hamilton] has got is that he's now over 40 years old. And when you're that age, regardless of how talented you are and how much physical ability you still have, you inevitably think about things more than when you were 23 years old. 23 years old, bang, you just do it." (3:25 onwards)

"When you're 40, you've been through so much. You got so much red dust.. And when [Franco] Colapinto made him move offline, I suspect deep down inside without even thinking about it, there was something in Lewis which said, "I've got a slightly different angle going to the curbs now. Better back off slightly.” And sure enough, he was a couple of miles slower than Charles Leclerc through there as a result... and so that's what it is. It's over 40, overthinking it too much."

After 14 rounds of racing, the F1 circus has gone into its summer break, providing Lewis Hamilton some time to recharge off the racing grid.

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How has Lewis Hamilton's 2025 campaign played out so far?

Ferrari's Lewis Hamilton at the 2025 F1 Grand Prix of Spain - Source: Getty

Lewis Hamilton's latest chapter in F1 with Ferrari was reckoned by many to be decorated with huge achievements shortly. On the other hand, the Briton is yet to score even a podium in the Grand Prix format with 14 race weekends already done and dusted.

The 2025 season began with the opening race being held in Australia, where Hamilton barely clung on to a points finish as he secured a 10th-place result. While the next race weekend in China was better, as the Briton won the sprint race, this happiness soon turned dark as the scarlet duo were disqualified from the Grand Prix just a day later.

Since then, Leclerc has clawed back his disadvantage and claimed five podiums and a sole pole position, while Hamilton still has a best finish of fourth in the Grand Prix. Thus, the 40-year-old would be utilising the summer break and aim to nail down the next 10 race weekends to have a better end to his maiden season with Ferrari.