Lewis Hamilton’s 2023 campaign certainly didn’t get off to an ideal start, with Mercedes once again appearing to be in trouble.
The Silver Arrows were comfortably slower than Red Bull and also off the pace of Ferrari and Aston Martin, meaning the Germans find themselves fourth in the pecking order after the opening round of the season in Bahrain.
Mercedes are clearly not happy with the W14, with emergency meetings having taken place ahead of the upcoming Saudi Arabian Grand Prix.
The Brackley-based team seemingly haven’t closed the gap to the leaders over the winter, with the side arguably having fallen further back.
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Hamilton finished fifth in Bahrain but crossed the line 51 seconds behind winner Max Verstappen, highlighting just how far Mercedes are behind the Austrians.
The seven-time world champion clearly isn’t happy with how the season has started, and even revealed his disappointment that the team didn’t listen to his feedback.
All of this happening in the final year of Hamilton’s contract is certainly far from ideal, with some having already questioned whether the 38-year-old could leave Mercedes at the end of the year, should they fail to catch Red Bull.
A few options for Hamilton have been speculated, given that he’s a driver who any team – except Red Bull – would like to have onboard.
Ferrari are a side who have popped up a few times when Hamilton’s contract situation has been discussed, with the Brit having previously admitted that he’d love to drive for the Italians.
Ferrari too are in a spot of bother, with Charles Leclerc having reportedly called for a meeting with Ferrari president John Elkann.
Hamilton and Leclerc could perhaps switch positions next season, if both decide that they want to depart their side.
Sky Sports F1 presenter Simon Lazenby personally believes a switch to Ferrari could be on the cards for Hamilton, having admitted that he “wouldn’t rule it out”.
”It’s the desire of all drivers to drive for Ferrari,” Lazenby told Express Sport.
“In the past, Lewis has been quoted as saying he would like to drive for Ferrari. If Ferrari moves comfortably ahead of Mercedes I wouldn’t rule it out.”
Should a move to Ferrari not happen, then Aston Martin are another side who’ve been discussed as an option for Hamilton.
Aston Martin are without a doubt a team heading for big things, something they proved in Bahrain after Fernando Alonso stormed to a podium finish.
The best is still to come from the Silverstone-based team, though, leading to some predicting that Lawrence Stroll could attempt a move for Hamilton should he become available.
Despite this, ex-F1 driver Karun Chandhok doesn’t see this happening, with the Indian believing that Stroll won’t “sack his son”.
“I don’t think that will happen,” Chandhok told Sky Sports Vodcast.
“You’re going to tell Lawrence to sack his son. Good luck with that.”
A third possible new home for Hamilton is Audi; however, this would involve the British driver remaining in the sport until 2026.
Audi have spoken previously about wanting a German driver, so perhaps they could field Hamilton alongside the likes of Mick Schumacher.
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Hamilton spoke highly of Audi when their move to F1 was announced, with the veteran having admitted that new manufacturers are “great” for F1.
“I think it’s great that we’re going to get new manufacturers within the sport – especially as you see there are a lot of teams that have the potential to be top teams but are our customer teams,” Hamilton said.
“So I think it’s going to be great moving forward and so we welcome them in.”