Lewis Hamilton has been warned he will face a 'change of atmosphere' at Mercedes in his final season with the team.
Sky Sports F1 pundit Naomi Schiff claims the Silver Arrows will prioritise George Russell this year, something she thinks will 'hurt' his team-mate.
Hamilton will enter his 12th and final campaign with Mercedes this week after it was confirmed in early February he will be joining Ferrari in 2025.
The 39-year-old has won six of his seven World Championships since he signed for the Brackley-based outfit in 2013.
Lewis Hamilton has been warned he will face a change of atmosphere at Mercedes
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He has decided to cut short his contract and fulfil a dream by signing a multi-year deal with Ferrari.
Hamilton has not won a race in each of the last two seasons and has not been able to lay a glove on Max Verstappen, who has won three consecutive titles in his Red Bull.
He will hope to go out on a high at Mercedes and will be aiming to start the season strongly in Bahrain this weekend.
Former racing driver Schiff says Mercedes will be able to cope with the impending departure of Hamilton.
However, she believes the 'dynamics' in the team will be different, with Russell given priority over Hamilton.
Schiff said: "I think they'll be fine in coping. I think there may be a change of atmosphere, particularly at the beginning of the year, because it's quite a big, tough pill to swallow for the team.
"For Lewis, dynamics might be slightly different, but I think once they get into the groove of things, and they're able to get through that first qualifying, get through that first race, they might be able to put it behind them.
"I think what could be a challenge this year, there were some moments last season where Lewis was quite clear that he and George had different requirements of the car.
"I think from a development perspective, the team are going to be prioritising George because he's the driver who's going to be driving that car in the future.
"So that could hurt Lewis, but I do think that the team will want to, once they get over their emotions, both from Lewis' side and from the team's side, I think they'll want to give him a good send-off."
Hamilton hasn't won a race since triumphing at the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix in December 2021.
He was beaten by Verstappen in hugely controversial fashion on the final lap of the final race of that season.
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Lewis Hamilton will enter his final season with Mercedes this week
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That saw the Dutchman claim his first title win and he has since stormed to another two World Championships.
Schiff fully believes that Verstappen will keep up his relentless winning form this season.
She added: "Yeah, I think so. Max has always been a brilliant driver since a very young age and he's always won everything he's driven.
"So I don't see why that should change now. He's got equipment that works.
Max Verstappen is strong favourite to win a fourth successive World Championship
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"I don't see Max dropping the ball. I think he's in a really great groove. He's really enjoying that car, it's really benefiting his driving style.
"So, as long as that's the case, I can't see him not driving incredibly well. That's just who he is, it's what he does."
