Hamilton warned Mercedes will start 'excluding' him

An F1 champion has predicted that Lewis Hamilton's Ferrari move could cause difficulties for the driver.

The seven-time world champion will join the team next season, after announcing his departure from Mercedes.

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Hamilton’s final season at the team has provided him with mixed results, with the 39-year-old bemoaning the start of the season as his ‘worst ever’.

Furthermore, the Brit has had to endure tough competition from his team-mate, George Russell, who has out-qualified him 10-4 so far this season.

Has Lewis Hamilton made the right decision by moving to Ferrari?

Despite their qualifying deficit, Hamilton remains the only driver to achieve multiple race wins this season at Silverstone and Spa.

However, according to the 1996 F1 champion Damon Hill, Hamilton could start to encounter difficulties at Mercedes as his departure date looms nearer.

Speaking on the F1 Nation podcast, Hill revealed that it was likely the team had begun to ice Hamilton out of discussions regarding the development of next years’ car, the W16.

When asked if this process would make Hamilton’s life harder in his final 10 races at Mercedes, Hill did not remain optimistic about his chances.

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“I think it’s got to, hasn’t it?” he said.

“I mean, he’s got to be excluded from conversations to do with whatever’s coming for next year.

“They don’t want to show many insights that he might take to Ferrari, particularly. So it may be he’s deprived of a little bit more information than he’s liked in the past.

“But they are an honourable team, Mercedes, and I think Toto [Wolff] is an honourable person,” Hill added.

“I think that he’ll always be treated fairly within a team, but there’s only so much you can give away, isn’t there, when you’ve got a guy leaving.”

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