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LEWIS HAMILTON could lose the appetite for F1 if he’s no longer fighting for world titles – according to Damon Hill.Hamilton’s contract with Mercedes expires at the end of the year and while he says he is committed to agreeing new terms, Hill reckons his desire to continue could be tested if he were to have another uncompetitive season.
Damon Hill feels Lewis Hamilton could lose his appetite for F1Credit: Rex
Hamilton could grow frustrated if Mercedes’ car isn’t competitiveCredit: Getty
Hill says finishing fifth is not good motivation for HamiltonCredit: Getty
The 38-year-old lost the title in 2021 and went winless in 2022 for the first time in his career.
And Hill, who quit racing just three years after winning the world title himself in 1996, believes Hamilton’s motivation is to win a record eighth world title.
He said: “After a while, you’ve had your fill of driving F1 cars, as amazing as that might seem.
“Lewis will respond to opportunity. If the opportunity diminishes rather than increases, then it will be more difficult for him to deliver those stellar performances.
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“He’s someone who is inspired by an opportunity to win.
“An opportunity to come fifth is not really sufficient motivation for Lewis.
“Given his incredible record, he may well want to ask, ‘Why do I need to keep doing this?’ if there’s no sign of the summit.
“That eighth world title was in his grasp and then it was denied him.
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“That’s the only reason he came back and carried on: the hope of getting that eighth title.
“I think that is his only motivation. I don’t think he just wants to race.
“He’s still got some more seasons, but he’s not got 10 years ahead of him. It’s going to be one or two.
“But when you’ve had that many years in Formula One, to pull your socks up and fight for fourth place, it gets a little bit less appealing.”
Former F1 world champion Jenson Button also believes that Hamilton could walk away if Merc’s new car isn’t up to scratch.
Button said of his former McLaren team-mate to The Telegraph: “It has to be that, right?
“Why otherwise would you leave it this late? He knows how annoying we all are asking [about the contract].
“I mean, we’ve got to ask the question, but he’s going to hate answering it over and over and over again.
“It can only be because he’s wondering how competitive they will be.
“Is he going to sign if the car is uncompetitive because he wants it to be quick again before he retires?
“Or is he thinking, ‘If it’s not better, I’m just going to retire’. Who knows?”
Meanwhile, Hamilton has been urged along with fellow F1 drivers to speak out on human rights to steer the sport away from a ‘moral vacuum’.
The F1 season kicks off this week in Bahrain with the second race in Saudi Arabia, with both countries facing criticism over their human rights.
Paul Scriven, a member of Britain’s House of Lords, told a news conference organised by the London-based Bahrain Institute for Rights and Democracy (BIRD) F1 was at a crossroads.
He said: “There are two roads that F1 can now take.
“One is a road which is a moral vacuum where the leaders and the administrators seem to going.
“There is another road that some drivers seem to be taking… who understand they can use their platform and their sport not just for sport’s sake but for good and for change and that they cannot ignore the human rights abuses in the country that they are driving in.”
Hamilton has previously insisted the sport addresses the issues in countries where it races.
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However, with the sport’s governing body, the FIA, now banning “political, religious and personal statements or comments”, human rights groups want them to continue to highlight their causes.
BIRD said human rights in Bahrain and Saudi Arabia had been “increasingly trampled on” and accused F1 of helping to “facilitate sportswashing of abuses.”

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FORMULA ONE have wielded the axe on one of its most iconic corners. Spanish Grand Prix venue Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya has seen it’s final sector altered so it no longer includes the chicane at turns 14 and 15.
The Spanish Grand Prix will see its iconic chicane axed
Turns 14 and 15 in Sector 3 are being removedCredit: Formula One
They will be replaced by two high-speed cornersCredit: Getty
Lewis Hamilton has won the Spanish Grand Prix six timesCredit: AFP or licensors

Instead, the circuit will now end with two high-speed corners, reverting back to the layout used before the chicane’s introduction in 2007.
And the change means former F1 race director Michael Masi, who engineered the controversial ending to Lewis Hamilton and Max Verstappen’s title fight in 2021, will get his wish.
Masi pushed for changes to the layout back in 2021, saying at the time: “It’s something that we’ve been looking at for a little while.
“It’s obviously not an overnight change that can be done, and having a look at all of the implications and unintended consequences that may come about.
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“Like all of our circuits and different corners and everything, we work together with the teams, the drivers and F1 in ensuring we’ve got the safest venue, but also something that promotes good racing.”
2022 saw changes pushed for even more before they were finally approved by current F1 race director and safety delegate Niels Wittich and the FIA’s head of circuit and rally safety Stuart Robertson.
The new layout will see the circuit length shortened to 4.657km from 4.675km, an 18metre reduction.
TECPRO barriers will be introduced in the new-look corners in a bid to maintain safety.
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Additionally, the run-off at Turn 1 has been extended to accommodate 70m more gravel and a five per cent increase in slope, while a brand new fence has also been introduced.
F1 fans appeared to be happy with the announcement.
One fan said: “Finally.”
A second declared: “Massive W, that last part of the race just didn’t feel right, it was just a bad copy of the Casio triangle from Suzuka (Japan).”
A third commented: “I USED TO PRAY FOR TIMES LIKE THIS.”
While a fourth added: “Lets go, the cars will be rockets now on the straight.”
The F1 season gets underway this weekend with the Bahrain Grand Prix, while Hamilton and Co are due to visit Spain on June 4.

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LEWIS HAMILTON has slammed “dangerous” new rules coming into F1 that he believes threatens to put drivers’ lives at risk.The seven-time world champion lashed out at proposals to ban tyre blankets, saying it is a “pointless exercise”.
Lewis Hamilton has blasted ‘dangerous’ new rules being introduced into F1Credit: Reuters
The rules are being considered as part of a shake up to reduce costs, as the energy-consuming blankets pre-heat tyres to provide better grip.
But Hamilton, one of only a few drivers who have trialled the new Pirelli tyres which had not been warmed first, says it could cause a crash as drivers take to the track on cold tyres.
He said: “I think it’s dangerous. I’ve tested the no blankets and there’s going to be an incident at some stage.
“So on a safety factor I think it’s the wrong decision. You have to drive multiple laps to get the tyres to work.
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“The whole argument is that taking away the blankets is for going more sustainable and more green. In actual fact we just use more fuel to get temperature into the tyres.
“But more concerning is just when you go out, the car is skating around, it’s very twitchy, and if there’s someone else who’s on tyres that are working you could easily collide with them. It’s a pointless exercise.”
Pirelli, the FIA and F1 are already phasing out tyre warming equipment on sustainability grounds.
Last year, the temperature at which they operate was reduced from 100C front and 80C rear to 70C all round.
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There had been plans to drop that temperature further to 50C this season, but that was stopped after the drivers voiced their concerns during a trial run in Austin last year.
Ferrari driver Charles Leclerc also agrees that the blanket ban comes too soon.
He added: “For now I don’t think we are exactly ready. I think there’s still a little bit of work, especially on the warm-up part of it in the first few laps, it’s still quite tricky.”
Meanwhile, Hamilton has mixed feelings about this year’s Mercedes car after F1 testing in Bahrain came to a conclusion today.
He added: “It’s difficult to sum it up. We’ve had a couple of difficult days — Friday particularly was difficult.
“The first day didn’t feel too bad, [but] yesterday was a little bit more of a struggle.
“I think George has had a much better morning on Saturday, so hopefully we’ve got the set-up in a bit of a better place.
“But right now, for example, the bouncing that we had has pretty much gone, so that’s a huge step for us.
“It’s nice to drive without the bouncing for once, but there are still some underlying things that we’re working through.”
The F1 season kicks off next Sunday in Bahrain and Hamilton says it is still too “difficult to know” where Mercedes sit in the pecking order.
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He said: “Some of the balance limitations that we had last year are present — we’re working through them.
“[But] I’m really proud of everyone in the team for continuing to remain positive after a tough year last year, [doing] amazing through the winter for us to drive and have the mileage that we’ve had.” More

GEORGE RUSSELL was forced to abandon his Mercedes Formula One car during pre-season testing after suffering a hydraulics failure. The Mercedes W14 was brought to a halt with Russell behind the wheel during the second session of the day on Friday, causing a red flag.
George Russell suffered a hydraulics failureCredit: Getty
The Mercedes car had to be abandoned on track and Friday’s second session was red flaggedCredit: Getty
Russell and team boss Toto Wolff have been talking up the performance of their car ahead of the new season. 
However, Friday’s failure will come as a blow to Merc, Russell and team-mate Lewis Hamilton, who are hoping to be competitive this season.
The hydraulics failure left Russell unable to change gear or use power steering.
The Brit could not shift up or down from fourth gear and had to abandon the car on track.
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Former F1 racer Anthony Davidson said on Sky Sports’ coverage: “It would make sense that he’s stuck in fourth gear because the hydraulics controls the gear shift mechanism along with the power steering.
“He had no clutch and that’s also controlled by hydraulics.
“He’s got the green light on top of the car as well so it’s not a hybrid issue.”
The team later said on Twitter: “We’ve confirmed it was a hydraulic failure that caused George’s car to stop on track.
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“That’s likely to be the end of our running for today. Back on track tomorrow.”
The fault comes after Russell expressed confidence that he can match double champ Max Verstappen, who’s driving for Red Bull.
The 25-year-old said: “I definitely head into the season believing I can [win the championship].
“At every point of my career I have gone in believing, but you need to take a rational view once you get to the track.
“We definitely believe that eventually we will have a car capable of getting into that fight.
“But Red Bull are looking very strong, very stable, and obviously Max is performing really well so realistically it will be a stretch for us next week.
“But there is no reason why we cannot get there eventually at some point this year.
“We have always seen in the past the strength of Mercedes’ development rate, so the belief is there.”
The F1 season kicks off next weekend in Bahrain.

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MERCEDES boss Toto Wolff is confident his team have ironed out their bouncing problems from last season.Wolff watched as the W14 took to the track in Bahrain for pre-season testing today when there was no repeat of the porpoising that had plagued their previous model and left drivers Lewis Hamilton and George Russell in considerable discomfort.
Lewis Hamilton has received a big boost ahead of the new seasonCredit: Rex
The new Mercedes no repeat of the porpoising in Bahrain todayCredit: Getty
Hamilton went winless for the first time in his F1 career last season while Russell won just once late in the year in Sao Paulo.
Wolff had been hesitant to speak about this year’s model until it hit the track but says he was pleased with what he saw.
He said: “It seems to be balanced in the right way. There’s no bouncing, which is good news.
“We’re gathering a lot of data because that was important to correlate obviously after last year, and trying different things, so a productive first morning.
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“We knew that we were in trouble [last year], the car was just bouncing around and we really weren’t able to drive it correctly. So that is very different.
“I think we have a solid base now to work from and try to optimise the car, which we haven’t done yet.
“It’s really just finding out are there any areas that could be a real performance hindrance like last year with the bouncing. We’ve just got to work through the programme.”
Meanwhile, Wolff and his rival at Red Bull, Christian Horner, were unusually aligned when it came to controversial FIA President Mohammed Ben Sulayem stepping back from his role.
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After a series of blunders, Ben Sulayem has removed himself from the day-to-day running of F1’s governing body and delegated the duties to Nikolas Tombazis.
The experienced F1 designer chaired the recent F1 Commission meeting where new rules were finalised, which proved a positive decision for the team bosses.
Wolff added: “We have a structure now that is very clear. Nikolas chaired the last commission. We have a lot on the agenda, short and long term.
“What we need to try to achieve is to work together pragmatically. Lots of objectives are aligned  in having the best, robust regulations and policing to put on a great show.”
Red Bull boss Horner added: “For once, I agree with everything Toto said!
“It is an evolution. There are big topics that need to be dealt with, particularly 2026.
“We need to make sure the engine world, the chassis world, and the product of what we want F1 to be all aligned.
“There is enough time to do that. It needs to be a priority over the coming months.” More