Has Hamilton’s F1 career peaked?

With the British Grand Prix just around the corner, all eyes will be – in fact, they already are – on the defending champion, Lewis Hamilton. The 36-year-old British driver will hit the circuit at Silverstone for the 15th time^th time in what is definitely a very popular job. Having said that, 2021 does not look very good for Hamilton and his Mercedes team even though he had a British record last year. Hamilton, who went to the British GP last year with a few circuit records to his name, for example, the fastest time of 1:27.369 at Silverstone – was able to break more records in 2020.

His seventh Silverstone victory in 2020 set a new record for most wins by a driver in a home race, surpassing Alain Prost’s six at the French GP. from start to finish, the great Ayrton Senna won 19 such races.

The 2020 season ended on a high for Hamilton and Mercedes. Hamilton won his seventh championship to match Schumacher, and his Mercedes team won its seventh championship in as many years.

What was in 2020, the current year is amazing as a perfect comparison; one of the worst seasons for Mercedes and its drivers. Since there are nine races in the season, Hamilton has been able to get only three P1 finishes which is nothing more than a walk in the park for the Mercedes superhero in the last few seasons. Then came races like Monaco this year which ended up being a complete disaster for the Silver Arrows. Even Hamilton’s teammate Valtteri Bottas is struggling to find his pace and control the car.

Considering the lack of performance from Mercedes, it is safe to say that the much needed W12 has proven to be a disappointment for Mercedes and its teams around the world. Even at the beginning of the season, during three days of testing in Bahrain, the car’s poor performance was evident. At the end of the test, James Vowel, the chief executive at Mercedes, admitted that the car’s performance was weak and that it was not They have some ready answers. Even at the beginning of the trial, the performance gap between Mercedes and its rivals, especially Red Bull, was so clear that Mercedes did not bother with excuses and just accepted.

The Red Bull, on the other hand, has a dream season with six P1 finishes, and has been able to appear on all the podiums this year so far. Max Verstappen, the legendary Red Bull driver, is clearly enjoying this season. In this amazing situation last week where the 23-year-old won two races in Austria – Red Bull’s home circuit, The Red Bull Ring – he went on record saying; “I knew if I had a car that could fight for the title I would be up there and it was showing.” even in his early days with Toro Rosso he was a student. this year with Red Bull’s ultra-dominant RB16B, he is showing his true speed. Cristian Horner, the boss of Red Bull, called Verstappen’s performance in Austria the strongest and most complete performance ever coming to Red Bull.

Apart from the Azerbaijan GP, ​​where the race ended in a DNF for the Dutch driver after a fatal tire accident just three laps from the end as Verstappen headed for another victory , it has been smooth sailing for the driver and team so far. . Sergio Perez, Verstappen’s teammate, is also driving with great maturity and consistency in his first season with his new team after Thai driver Alex Albon’s seat was handed to him in the Red Bull senior team in 2021.

While Mercedes faced all kinds of problems from tire control, wheel nut problems and pit-stop mistakes, everything seems to be going well for Red Bull. Age is certainly a factor in Hamilton’s declining performance. Ironically, age is also the reason behind the rise and rise of the young Verstappen who has gained experience over the years. For one reason or another, the ruthlessness that exists in Lewis Hamilton is missing this year, and Max Verstappen has begun to strengthen himself. In 2021, we may witness another change in the Formula 1 superpowers.