The start of the 2024 season has been a difficult one for Lewis Hamilton so far. During the first race of the season in Bahrain, the Briton crossed the finish line in seventh place. At the Grand Prix of Saudi Arabia, Hamilton just scored some points by finishing ninth. Former Formula 1 driver David Coulthard thinks he knows the reason for Hamilton’s disappointing results.
In February, Hamilton announced that he would leave Mercedes for Scuderia Ferrari from 2025. This marks the end of a twelve-year career with the German racing team for the Briton. Hamilton previously announced that he would fully concentrate on his final season at Mercedes, but Coulthard has his doubts about that.
Hamilton has Ferrari on his mind
In an interview with the British Channel 4, Coulthard tries to find an explanation for Hamilton’s disappointing results. The difference with teammate George Russell is especially striking. During qualifying and the race in Bahrain, Russell was consistently ahead of Hamilton. Hamilton was also unable to outdo his teammate in Jeddah.
According to Coulthard, Hamilton would already have his head at Ferrari, despite the 2024 season having only just started. ‘He’s not used to this car yet. George is already busy improving the lap times and you can see that Hamilton is lagging behind.’ Yet Hamilton will not stop there, Coulthard thinks. ‘If he sees the opportunity to perform, you know he will. But at the moment it seems that mentally he is already at Ferrari.’
Difficult start for Mercedes
Despite the fact that both Mercedes drivers finished in the points in Jeddah, the German team is unable to seriously compete with top teams Red Bull Racing and Ferrari. Hamilton told Motorsport.com after the race in Jeddah that the car especially has difficulty getting going in the corners. ‘We are good at low speeds and in some medium-fast corners we are not that bad either. It’s really about the high-speed corners, so we just need to add some performance,” said Hamilton.
