Lewis Hamilton faces major F1 questions as huge concern raised for Mercedes

Lewis Hamilton equaled Michael Schumacher’s record haul of seven F1 world records, but David Coulthard isn’t sure he can do it again.

David Coulthard doubts Lewis Hamilton can add to his seven Formula 1 world titles.

The Briton was cruelly denied eighth place in 2021 when Max Verstappen was stripped of the crown in controversial circumstances. And since then the Dutch king has reigned, and Mercedes has not reached the level of Red Bull.

Hamilton, who turns 39 next month, is under contract for at least two seasons with the team but is entering the twilight of his extraordinary career. But even if Mercedes could offer him a title-contending car, Coulthard is still not convinced he has what it takes to topple compatriot Verstappen.

“This is not Lewis in his prime,” said the Scot. “It’s been a very disappointing two years of poor performance for Lewis. If he gets another winning car, it will be very interesting to see if he can rediscover that old Lewis magic.”

Hamilton performed well this season, finishing third in the drivers’ standings. But these highlights were few and far between and he didn’t win a race for two years.

He finished the campaign very poorly, finishing 8th, 7th and 9th in the last three races of the year. The race, which included an even more rewarding sprint weekend, gave Mercedes just 14 points to secure second place in the Constructors’ Championship.

This led to back-to-back second-place finishes in Austin and Mexico, but he was later disqualified from the top spot. Like everyone else, Coulthard’s fellow Channel 4 pundit Mark Webber was surprised by the inconsistency of the Mercedes car.

“Cars are a mystery, aren’t they?” said the former Red Bull star. “There is nowhere like Brazil. AUSTIN, Mexico – Lewis was obviously prepared as the car was a little weak technically, but Hamilton ended up getting burned there. This literally turns on or off, the wind blows hot or cold, and the driver moves up and down.

“They are very small. And when they bite, they can really grow and start feeding on each other. However, it is technically difficult to combine all the turns in one weekend if space allows. So they want to throw that in the trash.”

Toto Wolff has already made it clear that his team is doing exactly that. “Almost everything changes because we think that by doing this we have a chance,” the Austrian warned. “We can make mistakes too. Anything is possible between not getting what we expected, being able to recover and making a big move and fighting on the front line.”