sport news Lewis Hamilton: Should Brit retire as Sir Jackie Stewart suggests or keep ... trends now

Lewis Hamilton, amid a season of disappointment so far with Mercedes way off the pace of Red Bull and Ferrari, is enduring one of the toughest moments of his career, of that there is no doubt. 

With the Abu Dhabi controversy still no doubt lingering in his mind, onlookers have been quick to jump to conclusions, with Sir Jackie Stewart urging the 37-year-old to retire. 

Three-time world champion Stewart believes the time has come for Hamilton to stop the pain and pursue other interests - but what is the right route for the man himself? Sportsmail evaluates what's at play and takes a look at both sides of the coin. 

HAMILTON SHOULD CALL IT A DAY - HE HAS NOTHING LEFT TO PROVE AND THE OPPOSITION IS ONLY GETTING STRONGER 

By Kieran Lynch 

Though Lewis Hamilton doesn't need to retire from Formula One to 'protect his legacy' as Jackie Stewart claimed, there are strong arguments to say why the three-time world champion has a point about the Mercedes driver's future.

Hamilton was cruelly denied his record-breaking eighth championship in Abu Dhabi last season and unless Mercedes make drastic improvements, there is a real possibility that he could go a season without a race win for the first time in his career.

The seven-time world champion has enjoyed a magnificent career in which he smashed all of the records, winning 103 races and taking pole position on just as many occasions.

There is a strong case he should still aim for one more championship, one he would deserve after coming so close to surpassing Michael Schumacher and moving out on his own in terms of drivers' championships.

However, there is no certainty that he will have a car again that can challenge for the championship, and after what he has accomplished in his career, he has nothing left to prove.

Eighth championship or not, he will go down as one of the greatest, if not the greatest, driver of all time.

At the age of 37, he is approaching a stage of his career where there is always the strong possibility of natural decline.

Schumacher returned to the sport in 2010 at the age of 41 after two years away and was clearly nowhere near the same driver he was when he first left the sport at the same age Hamilton is today.

On the contrary, Fernando Alonso is still showing great speed at the age of 40, though this is masked by the uncertainty of how he would fare against the likes of Max Verstappen and Charles Leclerc in better machinery.

Alonso, one of the most gifted drivers of his generation, has had a career unfulfilled after racing about in machinery below his supreme talents - winning two championships, when his speed deserved more.

Hamilton meanwhile has accomplished more than he probably dreamt about, and won't be excited by competing in the midfield.

The Brit's drive is not the same as what it used to be, especially compared to some of his younger rivals and in a car competing for positions he's not used to.

Four-time world champion Sebastian Vettel explained it best, when he told reporters earlier this month: 'When you get to know the sport in the way I have done, and Lewis has done, winning and being at the top is what you strive for.

'Does it excite you to finish eighth, or 12th or 13th? No it doesn't, when you know you have been first so many times – and in Lewis' case more than any other guy. George (Russell) comes in. He spent three years at Williams suffering to death at the rear of the field, scoring the odd point, and then suddenly he is eighth or 12th and life for him is amazing.

'Everybody is different, but you need to be fair from the outside and say, look, is Lewis naturally going to be as fired up about finishing eighth as George probably is? No, and I would be surprised if he was.'

Hamilton is coming up against a new generation of drivers like Verstappen, Leclerc and Russell who are hungry and determined for success, with their whole careers ahead of them and aspirations they have yet achieved.

Even if the Mercedes does improve, with those drivers mentioned continuing to improve and reaching the peak of their careers, Hamilton will find it tougher than ever to win another championship.

After years of dominating Valtteri Bottas, Hamilton now has a team-mate in Russell who is quick, hungry and will be determined to beat the legendary Brit in the same machinery.

And after the opening nine races, Russell is ahead of Hamilton in the championship, though the 37-year-old has had his share of bad luck in races this season.