Lewis Hamilton hopes that his golden age is before him, not behind him. But aged 40 and embarking on his final hurrah at Ferrari, there are no guarantees of that.
In truth, it is eight years since the British great was at his zenith — in 2018, when he combined experience with the rawness of his youth to produce performances of a barely believable excellence.
The Hamilton of then would never have been outqualified 19-5 by George Russell as he was last year, or skated in rain-soaked Brazil in the most mystifyingly poor drive of his life.
Part of the explanation for his dismal season was that it was a drag of a year, a drawn-out goodbye in a mercurial Mercedes as he waited for his move to the Scuderia and a fresh beginning.
His then team, too, were moving on. Russell was their future, Hamilton sliding into their history, and old favours were now falling the other side of the garage.
Bringing this right up to date, would a younger Hamilton have finished his first practice session in red, as he did here in sweltering Melbourne on Friday, in 12th place, six-tenths slower than his team-mate Charles Leclerc? Or the second, four-tenths back. Early days, of course. But a warning sign flashed.
Lewis Hamilton will make his debut for his new team Ferrari at the Melbourne Grand Prix
The 40-year-old is still hopeful of winning his eighth world title before he calls time on his remarkable career
Whether Hamilton can defy his ripening years by ransacking his past brilliance remains to be determined but he must confound the evidence of the record books to do so.
Yes, Juan Manuel Fangio claimed the last of his five world championships at the age of 46. But that was in a different age, not only in demands and equipment, but because the Second World War condemned those of Fangio’s contemporaries who survived it to start, or re-start, their racing lives again later. They were all older then; it’s not just the pictures.
Since 1968, so for more than half a century since Graham Hill triumphed aged 39, only three drivers prior to Hamilton’s own era won the title aged 38 or above: Mario Andretti in 1978, aged 38; Nigel Mansell in 1992, aged 39; and Alain Prost in 1993, aged 39.
Hamilton himself is the oldest champion of the 21st Century, aged 35.
A fellow seven-time champion Michael Schumacher was shown the door by Ferrari, in 2006, before his 38th birthday. He returned at Mercedes four years later. He was then prone to silly mistakes which would have been unimaginable in his salad days.
Damon Hill, who won his title for Williams aged 36 in 1996, was in the paddock on Friday, working for Australian TV. He remains a Hamilton believer, but talked fascinatingly of how a driver diminishes with age.
‘You can’t use the normal yardstick on people like Lewis Hamilton and Fernando Alonso (43 and still driving for Aston Martin),’ he said. ‘They are utterly dedicated, like Tom Brady in American football.
‘They are, or in Brady’s case were, extending what was previously thought to be the limit.
It is now eight years since Hamilton was at his zenith in 2018, when he combined experience with the rawness of his youth
The Brit was four-tenths slower than his Ferrari team-mate Charles Leclerc during FP2 on Friday
Hamilton, raging against any dying of the light, has turned up at Ferrari super-fit
‘They have used diet and preparation to their advantage for a long time. Maybe you can keep your fitness way into your forties. But as far as reaction time and using your instincts, there is a decline. Your vision goes. You lose peripheral vision. That is a really important thing. It goes from your late thirties.
‘Their vision is already restricted by the cars they drive and anything that’s not pin-sharp focused on judging distances will mean you leave a margin or get it wrong. With age comes a time when you weigh up the pros and cons of a tight move and you hesitate. You can’t do that as a racing driver. You can make wiser decisions, such as Fernando keeping out of trouble on a first lap.
The trap is thinking you can do what you used to be able to do. If you factor in that those days may be gone, you have to be an old pilot. Rather than a bold pilot. There are no bold, old pilots.
‘So it will be interesting to see how far Lewis and Fernando can go well into their forties. And there were moments last season when Lewis drove very well.
‘Motivation is another consideration. That maybe waned last year. Now he has a tantalising new beginning at Ferrari and the chance to be a championship contender and, who knows, win an eighth title.’
Hamilton, raging against any dying of the light, has turned up at Ferrari super-fit. He is a hard trainer, always has been.
Speaking in Melbourne on Friday, Ferrari boss Fred Vasseur insisted he was not concerned by Hamilton’s bumps over the past few seasons. ‘I have absolutely no doubt he will be able to perform and perform soon,’ he said.
‘It’s not about being on the limit in the first session. The target is for him to know everybody in the team, to discover the software, the process, the system. It’s just a learning process.’
That is fine up to a point. But you feel that if Hamilton is to fashion a success of his Ferrari swansong he needs to start well, before the sands of time run out.
