Despite being one of the most successful drivers in the history of Formula One, Lewis Hamilton’s performances this season have not been up to his usual standards.
After qualifying last, he started at the back for a second consecutive race. And although he made up ground early on, his progress slowed and he eventually finished outside the points. He did move up to eighth after McLaren’s disqualification, but it was still another frustrating weekend.
Hamilton’s mistake against Esteban Ocon highlights decline
Hamilton found himself behind the Haas of Esteban Ocon after gaining places at the start. But he wouldn’t pass the Frenchman until lap 20.
He had a chance to overtake Ocon on lap four when he activated DRS on the Strip. However, Hamilton went deep into turn 14 and allowed him to escape down the road.
These are the moments that show how much Hamilton has faded. Drivers in top cars are expected to get past Haas quickly, and he struggled far too long.
Kimi Antonelli’s back-to-back podiums have dropped Hamilton close to seventh in the standings. Charles Leclerc has beaten him in 17 out of 22 qualifying sessions this season, and also finished ahead in 16 of their 19 shared race completions.
Charles Leclerc’s approach highlights the gap to Hamilton
Leclerc started the Las Vegas Grand Prix in ninth and finished fourth. He moved past the other Haas of Oliver Bearman without much trouble, and also got by Isack Hadjar (Racing Bulls) and Carlos Sainz (Williams).
Speaking on De Telegraaf’s podcast, Christijan Albers said Leclerc was more clinical than the current version of Hamilton.
“He has a lot of trouble getting past,” Albers explained. “It’s not too easy to pass, but he loses a lot of time.
“You see that Leclerc is very aggressive, attacks immediately and pursues. He has much more awareness about the fact that, the longer you drive behind someone with dirty air, the more problems you’re going to have.
“You just have to have that attack. Max has that too. He just knows that you have one chance, and after two, three laps, you’re going to have a problem.”
While Hamilton isn’t considering retirement yet, even being asked about it reflects how far his confidence seems to have slipped.
Coulthard went as far as calling it ’embarrassing’ for Hamilton to be 20th in qualifying given his track record and what Ferrari represents in F1 history.
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