Lewis Hamilton ‘no regret’ claim as David Coulthard ponder Mercedes-Ferrari doubts

Lewis Hamilton may have enjoyed his reunion with his Mercedes “family”, but David Coulthard doubts there’s any regret behind his Ferrari switch.

Hamilton announced even before the first race of the F1 2024 season that he would leave Mercedes at the end of the year to join Ferrari, the Briton seeking a new challenge – and an eighth world title.

Lewis Hamilton Ferrari move backed by David Coulthard

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Today, though, it looks as if he may have backed the wrong horse.

After four years of ground-effect aerodynamic cars, a formula that didn’t suit his driving style, Formula 1 has returned to overbody aerodynamics. The new cars also run active aerodynamics and engines that are powered by a 50/50 split between combustion and electrical power.

It has seen the rise of Mercedes.

The Brackley squad is so far living up to its billing as pre-season favourites, claiming back-to-back 1-2 results in the Australian and Chinese Grands Prix, as well as the victory in the Sprint in Shanghai.

Ferrari has been second best to Mercedes, both in qualifying trim and race pace, with Hamilton joining Kimi Antonelli and George Russell on the podium in Shanghai where he secured his first top-three result in red.

The Briton was full of praise for his former team.

“I have to say a huge congratulations to Kimi,” Hamilton said after the race. “I’m so, so happy for you, buddy, and I’m so honoured to be able to share this moment with him.

“He took my seat, obviously, at this great team. So big congratulations to Mercedes, they’re really pulling ahead at the moment.

“We’ve got a lot of work to do to try and keep up.”

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Hamilton went on to label his podium celebration, which included his former race engineer Peter Bonnington, who is now the voice in Antonelli’s ear, a “family” reunion.

“To see George come through the sport and then get to Formula 1, and now see Kimi come through and to be able to be here with them, especially as Kimi took my seat,” he said. “And then Bono, I’ve worked with for so long, so it’s like sitting here with my whole family. So that’s great.”

Hamilton flew home from Shanghai in yet another reunion moment as the Briton was joined by his former Mercedes teammates Valtteri Bottas and Russell on Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff’s private jet.

Hamilton’s close relationship with his former Mercedes colleagues – Wolff texting the 41-year-old that he was “happy” to see Hamilton enjoying the new era of racing and telling Sky F1 that he is “still our driver” after China – coupled with Mercedes’ early season success have raised questions about whether he could perhaps be regretting his decision to swap teams.

13-time grand prix winner Coulthard doubts that.

“I don’t think so,” the Scot said on the Up to Speed podcast. “I think the mind of a sports person, and more specifically, a racing driver, is all about the here and now. It’s about the opportunity.

“He may reflect, when his career is eventually over, on decisions he’s made, but right now, he’s on the hamster wheel. He’s part of this.

“It was huge news when he signed to go to Ferrari. It was a hugely emotionally disappointing year, last year, and we were all sort of going, ‘Is he done?’ And to his credit, he’s come and shown us that he’s not done. But that is forever the game, isn’t it?

“I think he made it easier for Mercedes by leaving to go to Ferrari, because that would have been difficult for Toto to eventually say, “Lewis, we need to move on. We need the next generation’.

“So that’s like one box ticked in terms of Mercedes being released, and if he continues like this this year, podiums, maybe a win, and then will that make him go again, thinking he can get a championship next year?”

Coulthard reckons F1’s new cars have reignited Hamilton’s love for racing, and it’s bringing out the best in the seven-time world champion, who ended his Ferrari podium drought in China.

“I think he drove brilliantly, and there’s no question he’s been a lot happier,” he said. “Is it because love is in the air, or is it because he’s genuinely enjoying these cars?

“Ferrari has put on track the second-best car at the moment. They’re an annoyance to Mercedes, but they don’t have the pace in the first two grand prix to beat them over that duration.

“But what we have seen is Hamilton somehow adapting to the set of regulations, and although Leclerc came back strong in the second half of the race, I was kind of watching from the commentary box, thinking, ‘Okay, when’s Leclerc going to come?’

“Leclerc didn’t. That was a Hamilton masterclass in a one-stop race.”

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