Lewis Hamilton's switch to Ferrari has been brutally slammed as a 'doomed vanity project' by a top senior in F1.
The curtain is closing on Hamilton's decade-long stint with Mercedes and it's proving to be an unhappy ending for the 39-year-old.
Mercedes appeared to have turned a corner in the summer with Hamilton ending his near three-year wait for his 104th F1 victory.
That came in emphatic fashion at the British Grand Prix before adding his second of the season at Spa.
Lewis Hamilton will join Ferrari in the New Year
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But Hamilton has failed to get on the podium in any of the last seven races and suffered his worst finish of the year at the Sao Paulo Grand Prix on Sunday.
The seven-time world champion never looked comfortable around Interlagos with George Russell overtaking him in the Drivers' Championship.
Las Vegas is next on the calendar with the final two races in Qatar and Abu Dhabi before Hamilton jumps ship to Mercedes.
Performances from Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz recently compared to Mercedes suggest it's a smart career move heading into 2025 for Hamilton.
However, the Daily Mail spoke to 'one of the sport's most senior figures' who feels the switch is nothing more than a 'doomed vanity project'.
Hamilton seemingly already has one eye on next year after finding it tough to drive the W15 in recent weeks.
And the British racing superstar admitted after the race in Brazil that he is already looking forward to Christmas.
“I just put my focus on something else. I'm not fighting for the championship," Hamilton said.
Lewis Hamilton has just three races left with Mercedes
REUTERS
"Doesn't matter, really, where we finish in the championship.
“I don't care if I finish ahead of George or behind George. It doesn't make no difference to me.
"I just want to keep the car out the wall and try to score points if I can for the team, if I can finish, whatever.
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Lewis Hamilton had a torrid time in Brazil
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“If they give me a car that doesn't bounce off the track in the next few races, then hopefully we can get a better result. But yeah, looking forward to Christmas.”
Hamilton has never had a team-mate finish ahead of him in the championship twice but Russell has a chance of doing just that this year.
Jenson Button, Nico Rosberg and Russell have all managed the feat once each, but the latter has just three races to hold onto his current lead over Hamilton.
