Could disappointing 2022 struggles cause Mercedes driver Lewis Hamilton to retire from Formula One?

Lewis Hamilton admitted his bid for a championship is over this season - but could that disappointment prompt him to retire at the end of the campaign?

Hamilton is a seven-time champion, whose last victory drew him level with Michael Schumacher. At the time, it appeared he would be favourite to claim an eighth, to set him apart from the best ever, and to become the unparalleled greatest.

Instead, he was usurped as the reigning champion by Max Verstappen in controversial circumstances. While Formula One admitted the course of action to create that situation was due to human error, the result was not overturned, and Hamilton was essentially invited to deal with that injustice with no recourse. It was rumoured that he could walk away from the sport due to the disappointment, but ultimately he elected to sign a new, two-year contract with Mercedes and look to the future.

The future is here, and it is doubly disappointing. After 14th place at the Imola Sprint on Saturday afternoon, it was clear that the brief moment of hope from Free Practice 2 was nothing to build a challenge on. After the race’s conclusion, he admitted that Mercedes "obviously are not fighting for the championship." Given teammate George Russell currently sits in third - ahead of Red Bull who have clearly not thrown in the towel - that casts serious doubts on Hamilton’s enthusiasm for what the team can achieve this season, and certainly not for himself.

Of course, every driver is out for themselves first, but Russell might have reason to be disappointed. He could conceivably challenge for honours, but his more senior teammate is not having it. It suggests a lack of fight in the current champion, and it might hint that Hamilton’s two-year deal will come to a premature halt.

Upon signing his new deal, which expires in 2023, Hamilton had claimed: "I don't plan to be here until I'm 40. I hope I have something else exciting to do beyond."

This summer, he will be 38. Recent events suggest that he is already laying the foundations for something exciting to do, and if he stands no chance of beating the record originally set by Schumacher, there might be little inclination to carry on for the sake of collecting more data on a car that will never win a championship. Hamilton has a decade of success and knows little else these days. He might have experienced heartbreak at the season’s finale in 2021 but he could at least console himself with the notion that it had taken someone else’s mistake to unseat him as the champion.

Describing the prospect as "a dream," Hamilton is part of the consortium that hopes to buy Chelsea from Roman Abramovich, joining Sir Martin Broughton and Seb Coe, as well as his peer, Serena Williams. The sports stars are reportedly not going to have involvement in the footballing side of the operations, but with a net worth said to be north of £200 million, he no longer needs to race. Perhaps he will get more satisfaction from investing, joining figures such as Shaquille O’Neal who have found just as much success away from their first day job as they have in their next.

There is still time for Mercedes to make Hamilton’s decision an easier one in their favour. Collecting data is one thing for a long-term project, but for the German team and Toto Wolff, there is still the chance to make the team competitive with the vast majority of the season yet to come. They have been ready to seize on failures from Red Bull to collect points this season, and Hamilton’s doggedness gave them a late chance in Abu Dhabi last season when at times it seemed their campaign was already over. If Hamilton does not have the drive to battle anymore, then it of course makes sense for him to step back this summer. But if they can give him at least a brief taste of victory in the closing stages of 2022, it may tempt Hamilton back to chase glory for one final tilt at the championship.