Hamilton slammed with 'age has definitely caught up' dig amid troubled season

Johnny Herbert has analyzed the difficult period Lewis Hamilton is going through this season, pointing out that age is inevitably playing a role in affecting his performance.

For Lewis Hamilton, his first season so far is proving to be very challenging, with few highlights and many disappointing results. During the Hungarian Grand Prix weekend, this led him to make statements that quickly made the rounds on the web and social media.

So far this season, the Brit has yet to score a podium and is coming off a string of consecutive qualifying eliminations—twice in Q1 in Belgium between the Sprint Qualifying and the main qualifying session, and once in Q2 in Hungary, where he set the twelfth fastest time.

Lewis Hamilton in Hungary

'Age has definitely caught up' on Hamilton, says Herbert

According to Johnny Herbert, age is inevitably becoming a decisive factor for the seven-time world champion, even though his winning mentality remains fully intact: ''You feel the same as you did when you first started and then those little mistakes come in,” the former FIA stewards told a betting site.

“Things aren't the same as they used to be, everything changes, everything gets slightly slower as do reaction times. Those tiny mistakes that come in but they do make quite a big difference to his position on the grid for example.

“That's where age does come into play and it's not as if he happens at 30 or 35 or 38 or 40 or at any particular time. It varies from driver to driver and historically that's always been the case.''

“So where is his head? His head is still very motivated. I think he's already said that. He still enjoys it, which is very important. But it's all down to really those performances. And those performances just haven't been able to come.''

“You would have expected Lewis in his heyday to have adjusted his driving style around the problems. That's what he used to be able to do quite easily and that's not as easy to do now. So yes, age has definitely caught up with him.”

Leclerc is the one that is carrying Ferrari in 2025

According to Herbert, it’s Leclerc who has been the real driving force at Ferrari this year: ''It's been Charles who's been very consistent and then when the window of opportunity came in that Ferrari, Charles was able to do it without making any mistakes.''

The Monegasque driver has so far claimed five podiums compared to none from his teammate and is coming off a brilliant pole position in Hungary—although it ultimately didn’t allow him to fight for the win due to technical issues.

Charles Leclerc in Hungary

“It's always going to be how you stand up to your teammate. And Charles, I have to say, is driving probably the best I've seen him. He is more consistent, and he was mistake-free in qualifying.''

“For Lewis, it's going to be one of those situations again, where he has to reset. But how many times do you have to reset before you come to the realization that it's not where it once was.”

Finally, he added: “I can see there's a point in a drivers' career when you must make a decision. But it's very hard for a driver to make the decision at the right time.''

“If things don't click and get better, then maybe it will be something he will have a hard thought about and realize it's not there anymore and maybe it is time to move on and try other things in his life.”

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