Credits: IMAGO PanoramiC

An F1 expert recently explained why he believes that Lewis Hamilton is becoming increasingly “frustrated” at Mercedes. Edd Straw of The Race believes that since the Briton will leave the team for Ferrari in 2025, he is perhaps no longer committed to “fixing” things with his current side.

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When asked on the most recent episode of The Race F1 Podcast if Hamilton has given up, he replied, “I don’t think he has given up. I think he is incredibly frustrated and disappointed“.

Straw believes that since Hamilton wants to fight Max Verstappen and Red Bull at the front, it is disappointing for him to not be able to do so. Meanwhile, another reason why he believes that Hamilton is no longer committed to the Mercedes project is that he will leave for Ferrari in 2025.

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“He is only there for one more year. So I think, at some point, he is going to process the fact that I just get the best out of this car, I don’t really need to fix it for next year and try and make this one better,” explained the expert. At the moment, all Hamilton can do is fight for podiums. Verstappen meanwhile, continues to dominate.

Verstappen has won both the races so far this season. His teammate Sergio Perez followed him P2 in both. In such a situation, Hamilton may indeed be thinking that he will try and do the best he can for Mercedes for the rest of this season, and then plan ahead with Ferrari.

Lewis Hamilton will hope to challenge for a record eighth title in 2026

The regulations remain relatively unchanged going into the 2025 season. Hence, Max Verstappen and Red Bull are likely to be the favorites even next year. However, things could change come 2026. With F1 set to introduce new regulations, the pecking order could change massively.

Since the new regulations revolve around engines and Ferrari has years of experience in producing power units, they could be one of the favorites in 2026. Lewis Hamilton is perhaps betting on the same as he continues to hunt for his record-eighth championship. Ferrari fans too, have been excited about this partnership ever since Hamilton announced his move at the end of January.

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Red Bull are currently going through a period of turmoil because of the ongoing Christian Horner saga. There are rumors that the Dutchman may consider leaving the team because of this internal unrest. Since the Briton will be leaving Mercedes, the Silver Arrows are now reportedly fancying signing three-time champion Max Verstappen.