JV on Hamilton: ‘Will he even reach the end of the season?’

Jacques Villeneuve says sometimes champions can just decide they have had enough in the wake of Lewis Hamilton’s poor start to the season.

The seven-time former World Champion’s off-season before the 2022 campaign was far from ideal. In the wake of the 2021 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix that saw Max Verstappen crowned champion for the first time instead of Hamilton earning a record-breaking eighth, the Mercedes driver disappeared from social media.

Russell shines, Hamilton struggles at Imola

A disastrous home race for Ferrari

Alpine want Piastri’s future decided by summer

Red Bull bounce back with 1-2 finish at Imola

Magnussen continues to lead the way for Haas

More McLaren progress with Norris podium

The 37-year-old explained his absence as a need to “unplug”, but when Toto Wolff said both he and Hamilton felt disillusioned by the sport rumours began to circulate we may have seen the last of Hamilton on the track.

Hamilton eventually broke his silence to confirm he would be returning but since then, he may be starting to regret his decision to do so.

His season so far has been one of ups and downs. A third-place finish in Bahrain was followed by P10 in Saudi Arabia. Next was a fourth-place finish in Australia but both in Melbourne and Bahrain, Hamilton’s high position was a result of Red Bull’s reliability issues rather than Mercedes’ speed.

At Imola, Hamilton was made to endure a weekend to forget, qualifying poorly and struggling to overtake Pierre Gasly which resulted in a 13th-place finish – only the second time he has crossed the line outside of the points since 2013.

Nobody can be sure of the mindset Hamilton is in but 1997 World Champion Jacques Villeneuve has suggested the Mercedes driver may have had enough.

“Will