Damon Hill believes Lewis Hamilton could head into retirement earlier than expected if Mercedes does not re-establish its winning ways this season.
The Brackley squad is hoping to revive its title ambitions after a dismal campaign – by Mercedes standards – in 2022 that left Hamilton without a single win for the first time since his debut in F1 in 2007.
Mercedes has worked hard to field a car this season that will turn around its fortunes, but after pre-season testing last week in Bahrain, both Hamilton and teammate George Russell played down their chances of winning at the outset next weekend at Sakhir.
Hill suggests that another difficult season for Mercedes could crucially deplete Hamilton's supply of motivation.
©Mercedes
"Lewis will respond to opportunity," Hill told Standard Sport. "If the opportunity diminishes rather than increases, then it will be more difficult for him to deliver those stellar performances.
"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."
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Hamilton's current contract with Mercedes will expire at the end of this season. The Briton and team boss Toto Wolff have initiated talks about a new deal.
But Hamilton may very well want to see how his team's new car performs before committing to a new and likely final deal with Mercedes.
However, Hill reckons that the prospect of winning a record eighth world title in F1 is a big incentive for Hamilton, and one that has likely kept him going despite his team's shortfall.
"That eighth world title was in his grasp and then it was denied him," said the 1996 F1 World Champion.
"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.
"At 37 [Hamilton is actually 38], 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 1, to pull your socks up and fight for fourth place, it gets a little bit less appealing."
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