'Lewis Hamilton won't be around forever' - Charles Leclerc offered hope in Ferrari F1 struggle

David Coulthard has cast his verdict on the changing relationship between Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc, after the seven-time champion returned to winning ways in Barcelona.

Hamilton took his first Ferrari win at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya, while team-mate Leclerc ended a difficult weekend with a reliability problem that forced him to retire in the closing stages. 

Now 40 points behind Hamilton, who sits second in the drivers’ standings, Coulthard believes Leclerc will be able to hold his nerve. 

“He’s mature enough in his career now to understand that racing against a seven-time world champion, you’re not going to beat him all of the time,” Coulthard said on the Up to Speed Podcast.

“He probably found it a bit easier than he expected when he [Hamilton] joined from Mercedes, and he basically was still the pace-setter within the team. 

“But what we’ve seen this year, think back to Shanghai, where they were pass, repass battling, and we were questioning if Ferrari was doing the right thing letting their drivers race, but actually, it was brilliant entertainment for us, and it was the early signs that Lewis Hamilton was back to his brilliant best. 

“So he will, of course, be disappointed in his own performance in the last couple of grands prix, but he’s got a multi-million-pound secure contract going forward. Even if the worst comes to the worst for him, in that Lewis continually delivers, gets the wins, wins the championship, Lewis can surely only be around for another two years, three years. 

“I can’t imagine he’ll be around for the next five years, which I imagine is the length of contract that Charles Leclerc has.”

When Hamilton joined Ferrari, he made a point of socialising with Leclerc to build a working relationship. The pair are also known to play chess online together, but Coulthard says the friendship will have its limits. 

He explained: “They’re in two different phases of their life, let’s say. It’s all new and exciting for Charles, but I doubt very much that they’re going for social dinners together or booking their summer holidays together.”

With its significant Barcelona upgrade, Ferrari proved it has a car capable of challenging Mercedes for race wins, setting up the tantalising prospect of seeing the Ferrari pair head-to-head with George Russell and Kimi Antonelli. 

“I think what’s been interesting, we’ve had a brief insight in the Barcelona weekend of the wheel-to-wheel between George and Kimi, with George making quite a late defence into Turn 1, but he left enough space, so no issue there,” said Coulthard. 

“And of course, we saw in China, the sort of playing with each other with Lewis overtaking and Charles overtaking. 

“But as we ramp into the middle part of the season, the pressure is going to build, the competitiveness of Ferrari is obviously super-impressive to see, and so we’re going to see them not only battling each other for wins, we’re going to see them battling each other against the two Mercs as well. That is going to be fascinating.”