Sebastian Vettel 'needs to retire at least once' if Lewis Hamilton is to regain the world title, says Niki Lauda

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Lewis Hamilton needs Sebastian Vettel to ‘retire at least once’ if he is to regain the world title, according to Mercedes chairman Niki Lauda.

The stark prognosis comes after Hamilton endured one of the most baffling non-performances of his career in Monaco last weekend, when he struggled not only to match Vettel’s Ferrari but the pace of his own team-mate Valtteri Bottas.

Vettel drove to victory to extend his championship lead over Hamilton, who finished seventh, to 25 points.

Lewis Hamilton is currently 25 points behind Sebastian Vettel in the drivers' standings

Vettel drove to victory at the Monaco Grand Prix on Sunday to extend his championship lead

While Hamilton has pledged to work on his problems, citing the team’s failure to extract the most out of their tyres, Lauda said: ‘Vettel needs to retire at least once; otherwise it’s all over. 

'Ferrari have got momentum going. If it stays like this the gap will become huge, alarming.'

Once-impregnable Mercedes have time on their side – 14 rounds remain, including next Sunday’s Canadian Grand Prix, a race Hamilton has won five times.

Niki Lauda says Hamilton needs Vettel to 'retire at least once' if he wants to regain world title