Former F1 driver David Coulthard has named Lewis Hamilton as the “biggest disappointment” of 2024, a declaration that he recognizes as being “controversial”.
The seven-time world champion dropped to seventh in the drivers’ standings last year, scoring 22 points less than George Russell.
It was the young Briton who had the advantage over Hamilton, both in points and in their fast lap battles. Russell beat Hamilton in qualifying 19-5, but also beat the new forty-year-old 15-9 in the race.
“I would say Lewis is the biggest disappointment of 2024,” lance Coulthard.
“I know it’s controversial because he’s a seven-time world champion and a real winning machine, but I’ve never seen this Lewis in Formula 1.”
“He was clearly beaten in qualifying, while the big guys can always find speed somewhere to put in a good qualifying lap when it really counts.”
The former Red Bull driver believes Ferrari should be concerned about Hamilton’s performance even though Frédéric Vasseur has argued otherwise.
“Ferrari of course signed him at the start of 2024 and everyone was very excited then. Ferrari shares rose so fast that they wiped out all the costs of bringing Lewis in.”
“But Formula 1 remains a sport that depends a lot on data. The clock doesn’t lie and at the moment it’s not giving the expected results in terms of lap times. So they have to be a little worried.”
“But sometimes change is also good. Maybe Hamilton’s move to Ferrari, wearing that red suit, will work in the same way as Superman putting on his suit. It will be an exciting time to watch either way.”
