Brundle: Speculation around Hamilton utter nonsense

While everyone was expecting Hamilton to come back fired-up for another crack at that elusive eighth F1 Title, the seven-time World Champion was in for a nasty surprise as his team - whom he thought do not make mistakes - dropped the ball big time with their 2022 Silver Arrow, the W13.

With a viciously "porpoising" car that also seems to be lacking on the power-unit front, Hamilton was relegated to fruitless fighting in the midfield and currently sits seventh in the Drivers' Standings.

That all triggered rumors about the Briton's future in the sport and his commitment and motivations as he grapples with his woeful W13, but Brundle - now a respected pundit for Sky Sport F1 - slammed all the talk surrounding his compatriot's future.

"All of a sudden, he's fed up, he's had enough, he should retire," Brundle told Sky Sports News on Sunday. "That's just utter nonsense. His car's not working... let's hope Mercedes can get the car working sooner or later."

"It's way too early to talk about Lewis leaving," the veteran of 158 grands prix added. "It's only a few months ago that we were wondering whether the Brazilian GP weekend was Lewis' greatest-ever drive.

"We can't go from the revelation of Brazil to: He's a busted flush, he should stop. That's just silly talk," Brundle insisted.

Hamilton recently posted on social media what was basically a message to everyone that he called the shots regarding his future, and Brundle loved that.

"I loved his line - 'it's my masterpiece and I'll decide when it's finished' - I thought it was genius," he said. "I think that summed it up perfectly. He can call the shots."

While Hamilton is struggling with his 2022 ride, his new teammate George Russell - also having a tough time - seems to be handling his difficult W13 much better than the multiple Champion.

"I think George is handling a bad car better than Lewis is," Brundle praised the British youngster, who he believes is reaping the rewards of spending years in a back marker Williams' car.

"George has still got all the motivation and the enthusiasm, and he has had three years of manhandling a Williams around, getting better results than it perhaps should have done.

"He's doing a fine job and I think he's very special. I'm not at all surprised he's at least matching Lewis, that's exactly what I expected him to do," the nine-time podium sitter admitted.

Brundle believes the W13 has a lot of pace to unlock when and if the team are able to sort out its bouncing problems, but warned they are advancing towards the point where they need to admit their concept is flawed.

"There's a lot of time to be found if they can find the solution," he stated. "There must be a point coming soon where they have to accept that this car and concept doesn't work and have a redesign for the second half of the season.

"In which case, what are you going to do? I can't imagine the team want to copy somebody else's concept," Brundle mused. "With cost-cap, and a 23-race season, it's a really difficult situation Mercedes find themselves in.

"The next race or two, starting here, is critical for them solving the problem. Can they understand it? Can they fix it?

"If they get the potential out of the car, I think they'll quickly be back in the game," the 62-year-old maintained.