Schumacher suspects Hamilton's impending departure: 'Something has changed'

Lewis Hamilton had another disappointing weekend in Hungary, after the first half of the season at Ferrari did not go as hoped. Ralf Schumacher joins other former F1 drivers in saying that he wouldn't be surprised if the seven-time world champion hangs up his helmet after this year.

In the Backstage Boxengasse podcast from German Sky Sports, Schumacher responds to Hamilton's despondency in Budapest. The Briton himself suggested that Ferrari might have to look for a replacement. Former Formula 1 drivers Damon Hill and Martin Brundle also said they wouldn't be surprised if Hamilton can't sustain this in the long term.

‘Hamilton may be looking to Hollywood’

Schumacher concurs. "Lewis is, of course, a very wealthy man. So it's entirely possible that one day he thinks: okay, I'm going to do something different. I'm going to focus completely on movies — that's also going excellently, he is after all involved in it — and I'm just not going to do this to myself anymore", the German suggests.

According to Schumacher, this is a very normal process for a driver of Hamilton's age. "At forty, it's not weird to make such choices. You do not have to keep driving in circles your whole life. And given his comments, I think it’s quite possible he might decide to quit", he continues.

Hamilton in Spa-Francorchamps press conference

'Something has changed with Lewis'

The fact that Hamilton is making such remarks is telling for Schumacher. "We were talking about this three months ago when everyone was still criticizing us — especially me — because I said that Hamilton might quit. And now he's saying it himself. So something has changed. And I stick to it: if nothing drastic changes, he might possibly say at the end of the year: I'm done."

He doesn't rule out an early departure during the season. "Once that thought is in your head and you know that you can no longer resist it, then it's just over. I can imagine that internally there is already thought about how to proceed. Ferrari does not pretend that nothing is wrong — they see how Lewis reacts."

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