Lewis Hamilton is facing his very own Arsene Wenger crisis at Ferrari

Lewis Hamilton, Arsene Wenger look at one another — Photo: © IMAGO

F1 Opinion

Lewis Hamilton is facing his very own Arsene Wenger crisis at Ferrari

The F1 and football legends have one major thing in common

Matthew Hobkinson Lead Editor

F1 Editor & Journalist

Tuesday 24 June 2025 18:54

Lewis Hamilton and Arsene Wenger. Two icons of their respective sports. A seven-time F1 champion and still the only Premier League manager to go a season unbeaten. They will forever be remembered by fans of Arsenal, Mercedes and the rest of the sporting world. But what on earth do they have common? Not knowing when to say goodbye.

I am not here to question Hamilton’s decision to join Ferrari, far from it. I refused to believe the news when it first broke such was my excitement. But there is no beating around the bush, his move has been a disaster.

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We have watched a man become a shell of the driver he once was as both age and machinery slowly fail him. The post-race interviews are getting harder and harder to watch. The lack of fight through the field even more so.

There shouldn’t be need for this caveat – but such is F1 fandom these days – that it goes without saying that Hamilton stands on his own as the greatest driver of the modern era. You can fight it out amongst yourselves as to who the greatest of all time truly is, but that is not the point of this piece.

The point is that I watched another sporting great slowly but surely become a shell of himself. Arsene Wenger.

Growing up supporting Arsenal in the 90s, Arsene was Arsenal. So much so that I had to ask my parents if the club was called as such because of him, or vice versa.

That man could walk on water. He could do no wrong and everything he touched turned to gold - in 2003/04 it quite literally did.

But then all of a sudden, it didn’t. The so-called glory days of titles and trophies became top four stagnation, which soon became cries of ‘be careful what you wish for’.

I still to this day hold the opinion that Wenger deserved to leave the club whenever he wanted such was the impact he had. But oh how I wish he had called it a day sooner.

His legacy was in fear of forever being tainted with each passing year without silverware; some still can’t see past his twilight years but I suspect the scars of Unai Emery have made things seem worse than they actually were.

And here I am worried that I am about to watch Lewis Hamilton go through the same stagnation that Arsene Wenger faced.

Lewis Hamilton's move to Ferrari has not been successful

A constant battle of trying to prove you are still capable of your past glories. That age is just a number. And that you haven’t quite lost it.

The thought of an elusive eighth world title, to stand head and shoulders above everyone else, at F1’s most iconic team of all? That’s worth any risks you might face.

But Hamilton needs to know when enough is enough. His contract rolls into next year and in come the sweeping regulation changes. If we are where we are in one year’s time, then I hope Hamilton calls it a day. He will forever be missed but at least the memories of his seven titles will overshadow any others that might tarnish his legacy in F1.

I can't watch many more downbeat interviews or furious back and forths with a toothless race engineer providing dubious strategy calls.

So please, Lewis, learn from Arsene's mistakes and leave the sport on a high. Or as a certain Liverpudlian pundit might say – leave F1 before it leaves you.

F1 Lewis Hamilton Ferrari Mercedes