Lewis Hamilton has suffered a huge £30m blow ahead of final two F1 races

Hamilton was once unstoppable in F1, winning six F1 titles between 2014 and 2021.

Ever since missing out on glory to Verstappen two years ago in Abu Dhabi, however, he's lagged behind his fierce rival.

Hamilton signed a new contract with Mercedes in 2021, as well as another one earlier this year.

As part of his contract, he'd be entitled to a sum of £15m-a-year as a bonus if he won the biggest prize of all.

But with Hamilton now missing out on glory for a second time since penning his 2021 deal, he's now been unable to get the extra £30m as a result.

With just two races to go, Hamilton is eager to secure a place on the top of the podium.

The Las Vegas Grand Prix is due to take place on November 19, with the season finale in Abu Dhabi pencilled in for seven days later.

Given how Mercedes and Hamilton have performed this season, however, few are giving them a chance of reigning supreme.

The Stevenage-born racer is also facing the unwanted prospect of failing to win a single F1 race for the second year in a row.

In 2022, Verstappen won the majority of the races with Charles Leclerc, Sergio Perez, Carlos Sainz Jr and George Russell also securing glory.

But while Hamilton is committed to Mercedes, there are now fears he's a driver on the decline.

He signed a new deal earlier this year because he's optimistic the Silver Arrows can reel in Red Bull.

Recent comments suggest his mindset has changed, however.

Hamilton sounded downbeat when quizzed on whether Mercedes can catch Red Bull in the next couple of years.

“The Red Bull is so far away, I think they’re probably going to be very clear for the next couple of years," he said.

Red Bull chief Christian Horner then hit back at the Briton, insisting he had 'selective memory' due to how dominant he used to be.

“I feel like he’s got selective memory," he said.

"So you know, some of the winning that they did in that period was just obscene.

"We’ve had a good run for a couple of years, but the one guy that shouldn’t be saying that I would think, is Lewis.”

Horner also admitted Verstappen was so determined to win races there was little chance of him gifting a victory to team-mate Perez any time soon.

"Somewhere between zero and one, I would say," he said when asked about the chances of that happening.

"Checo, I don't think he's going to need that help, Max is focused on his thing.

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"He doesn't want to leave anything on the table.

"He's focused on an incredible year that he's been having, and he just wants to keep winning.

"Checo shouldn't need that help from Max and we saw that yesterday."