Lewis Hamilton issued Michael Schumacher warning as struggles raise legitimate question

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Exclusive: Former Formula 1 star David Coulthard assesses Lewis Hamilton’s move to Ferrari in the context of his qualifying struggles this season and suggestions of decline

Questions over Lewis Hamilton’s apparent decline are “legitimate”, David Coulthard believes.

And the British former F1 star thinks we will soon see whether the seven-time champ still has what it takes when compared to new Ferrari team-mate Charles Leclerc next year. Hamilton has been trounced by Mercedes rival George Russell in qualifying this season and, at Ferrari, will go up against arguably the quickest man over one lap on the grid in Leclerc.

“Lewis is rolling the dice again with Ferrari,” Coulthard told Mirror Sport. “It may well lead to a rejuvenation of performance and a fight for the world championship. But it is going to be challenging because he has got [to beat] a very fast Charles Leclerc.”

Hamilton’s total of 104 career pole positions is the all-time F1 record, but he is the first to admit he has struggled for one-lap pace this year. And Coulthard thinks a shot at an eighth title is off the table unless he can get back to his best on a Saturday.

He said: “The key ingredient of all of the greats over the history of time has been to be able to qualify and race. And if Lewis, at 40 years old, has lost a yard in footballing terms, then he may well struggle to beat Charles over the course of a year.

“That is a legitimate question that anyone should be asking, but it is for him to show us. It is not about us putting him down and saying he cannot do it, because it is in his hands. All of these guys have it in their own hands to shape their own future.”

The former McLaren and Red Bull racer went on to use Michael Schumacher as an example to his warning that there is no guarantee of a fairytale ending to Hamilton’s career. Schumacher came out of retirement to drive for Mercedes for three seasons but did not win a race in that time.

Coulthard said: “Mercedes does not exist for Lewis Hamilton, and Lewis Hamilton has made it clear that he does not exist for Mercedes. In the same way, when Michael came back from retirement to sign for Mercedes, it was really shocking to imagine him being anything other than a Ferrari legend.

“But the draw of coming home to Mercedes, the desire and belief that he could do it still, brought him in. He did a couple of years, he did okay, but it was not the same as how he was in his first stint in Formula 1.”

Hamilton and Mercedes would love nothing more than to end their long partnership on a high. It seems unlikely, though, given the miserable triple-header he endured in Austin, Mexico and Sao Paulo, by the end of which the Brit said his car had never felt worse.

Coulthard is optimistic, though, that we may see one last bit of magic from the 39-year-old in a Mercedes machine. The Scot added: “He could well win his last ever Grand Prix for Mercedes in Abu Dhabi, and what a great celebration of his time with them that would be.

“You and I do not know what the next few races hold but, if he does not, it is not going to be the passionate celebration of moving on that maybe they both would have liked.”

Watch highlights of the Las Vegas GP on Channel 4 on Sunday, November 24.