Coulthard doesn’t buy Lewis Hamilton excuse in ‘past his peak’ tease

David Coulthard isn’t buying Lewis Hamilton’s excuse that the Ferrari F1 car is “alien” to him, after all, a “power unit is a power unit, downforce is downforce”.

Instead, the Scot has pondered whether Hamilton’s struggles to adapt to the SF-25 are a sign that he is past his prime in Formula 1.

‘So the question is, and I’m going to say it, is he past his peak?’

After 12 seasons racing for the Mercedes F1 team, and 18 years in total using Mercedes engines, Hamilton took on a brand new challenge for the F1 2025 championship – Ferrari.

The Briton swapped silver for red, signing a multi-year deal with Ferrari.

But as the hype and fanfare waned, the reality set in as Hamilton not only had to adapt to a new culture at Italy’s Formula 1 team, but he also had to learn about the new car and the new power unit.

16 races into his Ferrari career, and still without a grand prix podium, Hamilton concedes it has been more difficult than expected.

Speaking with PlanetF1.com’s Thomas Maher and other media outlets at the Italian Grand Prix, the Briton admitted: “Ultimately, that’s driving kind of an alien driving style, with a car that I’m not 100 per cent comfortable with.”

He added: “I think what’s clear for me is that, look, I know I’ve been driving this car all year long, but in my previous years, I was a part of a car that you’re evolving over time.

“You’re comfortable with it, and know the driving style inside and out.

“This year, I’m arriving at the track and having to apply this new driving style that’s still alien to me. It doesn’t feel natural.”

It’s a tune Hamilton has been playing all season, declaring at the season-opening Australian Grand Prix that the Ferrari is “just different, just a lot different” and that he’s “adjusting my driving style bit by bit”.

Coulthard, however, has questioned whether that is just an excuse for a driver who is past his prime in the sport.

“Well, the old cliche is it never rains, but it pours,” he told Channel 4 of Hamilton’s woes. “It just feels that off the back of the end of his Mercedes run alongside George, he’d lost his mojo there.

“We hoped that he would rediscover it at Ferrari, be energised by the power of the Tifosi, but it just hasn’t worked out.

“And this is not an opinion business, because I know there’ll be people at home going, ‘how dare you say something negative about Lewis Hamilton?’

“The guy is brilliant, and he has been brilliant, but you’re judged against your teammate, and that’s the one thing that stands between him right now and a big result. He’s got to consistently get in front of Charles.”

Hamilton trails Charles Leclerc in every stat that matters.

Lewis Hamilton losing to Charles Leclerc in Ferrari head-to-head stats

👉 F1 2025: Head-to-head qualifying statistics between team-mates

👉 F1 2025: Head-to-head race statistics between team-mates

He’s 14-5 down on the Monegasque driver in qualifying, Sprint quali included, and trails his teammate 4-14in races, grands prix and Sprints but China taken out of the mix after the double DSQ. He’s also 46 points behind Leclerc in the Drivers’ standings.

Told “it’s bleak” by C4 host Steve Jones as he laid out Hamilton’s deficit, Coulthard replied: “Yeah, those are the statistical facts. And I wish I had some kind of guiding light as to how he’s going to turn that around.

“I struggle to buy into the whole change your culture. It’s a race car, right, left, throttle, brake.

“Yes, there’s another way of terminology, but a power unit is a power unit. Downforce is downforce. When you break this sport down to its simplest forms, it’s about human and machine, and the very best at their peak are able to master that.

“So the question is, and I’m going to say it, is he past his peak?”

But it’s not all on Hamilton, says Coulthard.

Ferrari went into the F1 2025 with huge expectations, created by pundits but also the team, but it has fallen short.

“It feels that other than that little flash of brilliance in the Sprint in China for Hamilton, and then the unbelievable pole position from Leclerc in Budapest, they’ve been kind of used to the fact that they’re the best team, maybe,” said Coulthard.

Ferrari, who has yet to claim a grand prix win this season, sits second in the Constructors’ Championship after Monza with 280 points, 20 ahead of Mercedes.

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