David Coulthard disagrees with Lewis Hamilton over Ferrari F1 pace
David Coulthard explains why there were signs of encouragement for Lewis Hamilton at the Spanish Grand Prix
Ex-F1 driver David Coulthard believes Lewis Hamilton has “reasons to be positive” despite a difficult Spanish Grand Prix.
Hamilton finished sixth at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya, three places behind teammate Charles Leclerc.
The seven-time world champion did out-qualify Leclerc for just the second time in 2025 - but struggled for race pace.
After just 10 laps, Hamilton was given team orders after holding Leclerc up.
Hamilton struggled for pace for the rest of the race, losing out to George Russell through the pit stop phase.
After the Safety Car, Hamilton was overtaken by Sauber’s Nico Hulkenberg for fifth place, capping off a terrible race.
Barcelona has traditionally been a strong track for Hamilton, remaining unbeaten for Mercedes between 2017 and 2021.
He scored podiums in 2023 and 2024 despite struggling for consistent performances in his final two years with Mercedes.
After the race, a despondent Hamilton declared that there were “zero positives” from the race.
However, Coulthard thought there were still some signs of encouragement for the seven-time world champion.
“I think that, whether Lewis likes it or not, the team in the situation they are right now if the shoe was on the other foot, I think they’ve got to release the faster car and then sort it out later in the Grand Prix,” Coulthard said on Channel 4.
“In this case, I think Lewis came into the race, I think he was not delivering the pace at the beginning.
“I think there was an area in the middle of the Grand Prix where he was actually matching Charles and looking like he was finding some comfort there.
“So, reasons to be positive for Lewis, but right now, I think he’s a little bit punch drunk with the difficulties of getting up to speed with Ferrari.”
Why Canada will be decisive for Hamilton
Like Barcelona, Canada’s Circuit Gilles Villeneuve is another circuit where Hamilton has consistently performed.
He took his maiden win for McLaren in 2007 at the Canadian Grand Prix.
Hamilton has won the Canadian GP on seven occasions - the same as Michael Schumacher.
Until last year, Hamilton hadn’t qualified lower than fifth in Canada.
If Hamilton is out-performed by Leclerc again, his form will likely concern Ferrari.
With a sharp eye for F1’s controversies and storylines, Connor is the heartbeat of our unbiased reporting.
