Jenson Button questions whether Lewis Hamilton's F1 'career is over' amid Mercedes woes

Jenson Button has asked whether Lewis Hamilton feels his "career is over" and is planning on quitting F1 soon with the seven-time world champion still unable to extract the best out of his Mercedes through the opening seven races. Hamilton has found himself in the unusual position of being unable to fight for race wins this season with Mercedes falling behind Red Bull and Ferrari.

Hamilton has made it clear that he stands by the team's direction and believes that Mercedes will soon turn a corner in their development of the W13. But the 37-year-old has so far been scrapping in the midfield through the opening few races.

While Hamilton has been unable to fight for race wins, he's also fallen behind new team-mate George Russell. The young Brit has beaten Hamilton in the last six races and is already 34 points clear of his compatriot in the Drivers' Championship.

It's unfamiliar territory for Hamilton, who has grown used to competing at the front in F1 throughout his career. Button, who drove alongside Hamilton for three years at McLaren, believes Mercedes' troubles have come as a shock to his former team-mate.

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And the 42-year-old wonders whether Hamilton is now thinking of his future beyond F1. "I think the big shift for Lewis is he's driving a car that isn't competitive in his world," he said on The Chris Evans Show on Virgin Radio.

"He's been fighting for the World Championship since 2014 and his team-mate has come, young upstart George Russell, and he's been competitive. Because George is driving a car that's actually better than he was used to [at Williams], it's given him confidence and he can push a bit harder.

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"Whereas Lewis has