What will Formula One actually look like without Lewis Hamilton?

Imola proved many things on its return to Formula One. It proved that tracks that didn’t always deliver the best racing can be given a new lease of life through technical advancements. It proved that Mercedes are simply not going to be beaten in this current era of regulations, and perhaps more worrying, it proved F1’s time to move on from Lewis Hamilton may be sooner than it initially thought.

It remains highly likely that Hamilton will be on the grid next season, despite the soon-to-be-crowned 2020 world champion throwing his future into doubt by admitting he doesn’t even know if he will have a drive with contract negotiations with Mercedes yet to reach a conclusion.

Toto Wolff eased those fears quickly on Monday morning, although it’s looking increasingly unlikely that he will return in the team principal role that has helped take Mercedes to seven consecutive world titles.

“I think it's the moment, it's the emotions. We are all happy, but very tired also,” Wolff said. “And the same for me: I relate to his feeling that you question yourself and that you think about all the other things that matter.”

“Wolff added that himself and Hamilton are “not finished yet”, but all this talk of the 35-year-old Briton’s future has provided an uncomfortable reminder that there will be a time when the sport moves on from Hamilton, which will be something of an issue for F1.

That’s not because of his dominant streak or his current status as the greatest driver of his generation. When a true great leaves a sport, the world continues to turn and a new era begins. F1 coped just fine after Michael Schumacher’s departure and it will cope just fine on the track when Hamilton departs, whether that’s at the end of this season, next season or well beyond.

It’s what Hamilton offers F1 off the track, or more what he actually brings to it, that F1 will miss. Hamilton is sporting box office, the type of individual that polarises a fan base to the point that they become the focal point of the entire thing, akin to a Tiger Woods, a Serena Williams or a Cristiano Ronaldo. Because of this, people care about what he says, they care about what he does and, as last Friday proved, they even care about what he wears.

The Briton is arguably the biggest draw the sport has ever had thanks to his phenomenal following. He currently has more than 20.5m followers on Instagram, is just shy of 6m on Twitter and has a fan base in the form of #TeamLH that is more than just a catchy slogan, with Hamilton genuinely inspired by those who back him through thick and thin.

On the other side of the coin is those who simply cannot stand Hamilton, for one reason or another. His success riles many on social media, who are quick to point out the fact that he does not reside in the United Kingdom and, apparently does not pay any tax, despite his salary being taxed at 50 per cent due to coming from the Brackley-based Mercedes team. Others have more recently detracted from him for having the best car, though there have been few contenders in the conversation of the greatest F1 driver that have not been in the best car of their individual era. The best drivers, after all, end up in the best seats, bar one or two exceptions.

Regardless of opinion though, people care, and it became apparent the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix that Hamilton remains a draw like no other. It wasn’t Valtteri Bottas or Max Verstappen who delivered a flurry of flying laps when it mattered most to seize the lead of the race, it was the man who has done exactly the same for five of the last six years. Even in 2016 when Nico Rosberg beat Hamilton to the title - the only man to have done so in F1’s hybrid era - Hamilton had more wins and more podiums than his Mercedes rival.

The problem is there doesn’t seem to be a driver ready to step up and fill that void of global superstar. Verstappen is certainly ready when it comes to driving ability, with the Dutchman doing an incredible job to force Bottas out of his way and split the Mercedes on Sunday only for his Red Bull’s suspension to fail him, but is he able to carry the sport globally on his shoulders single-handedly as Hamilton has done for a number of years? It wouldn’t really be fair to ask so much of such a young man.

Fernando Alonso will return to Formula One next season, but at 39 years old, you’d imagine the comeback to be a short-lived one - certainly not one long enough to take on the mantle once Hamilton departs.

It leaves a question that cannot yet be answered, but is getting dangerously close to becoming unavoidable: what will F1 look like without Lewis Hamilton?