Formula 1, Sportrik Media - Former Formula 1 driver David Coulthard has raised a theory that Lewis Hamilton has lost around “half a tenth” of performance, leaving him unable to dominate teammates in recent seasons.
Throughout his Formula 1 career, Hamilton has outperformed the vast majority of his teammates, particularly during the turbo-hybrid era with Mercedes. However, in the ground-effect era, he has faced stronger internal competition against George Russell and Charles Leclerc.
Last season with Ferrari, Hamilton was regularly behind Leclerc in both qualifying and race conditions, a situation rarely seen during his time at McLaren and Mercedes.
The 41-year-old has also been open about his dislike of the previous generation of cars, even though he still managed two race wins over a four-year period. Nevertheless, Coulthard believes Hamilton’s performance advantage over teammates is no longer as significant as it once was.
“When the stopwatch stopped talking to me, the lap times weren’t there anymore. And then I realised you just lose that edge,” said Coulthard.
“In footballing terms, it’s like losing a yard. You just can’t get on the ball anymore.”
“So I just wonder whether Lewis has lost that little half a tenth that he had over all his teammates in the past.”
“Because in the last three years, he hasn’t dominated his teammates in the way he did in the previous 15 years.”
The comments come ahead of the upcoming Formula 1 season, where Hamilton will once again face strong internal and championship competition.
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