Former Red Bull Racing Formula One driver David Coulthard has claimed that Lewis Hamilton has lost his “mojo,” considering the struggles in adapting to his Ferrari SF-25, and in matching his teammate Charles Leclerc’s performance.
Hamilton’s best achievement with the red team this year so far has been his Chinese Grand Prix sprint victory. Apart from that, the seven-time world champion has been facing difficulties during several Grand Prix weekends, with his worst finish being a P12 in Hungary.
The Briton recently admitted at the Italian Grand Prix that he was happy with the car’s performance, which helped him climb to sixth place after starting the race from P10. He spoke about his Ferrari feeling more “alien” than the cars he has driven before, and is working on getting used to a different driving style. However, Coulthard has questioned whether that is really the case or if Hamilton is past his peak F1 performance. Speaking to Channel 4, as quoted by Planet F1, he said:
“Well, the old cliche is it never rains, but it pours. It just feels that off the back of the end of his Mercedes run alongside George, he’d lost his mojo there.
“We hoped that he would rediscover it at Ferrari, be energised by the power of the Tifosi, but it just hasn’t worked out.
“And this is not an opinion business, because I know there’ll be people at home going, ‘how dare you say something negative about Lewis Hamilton?’
“The guy is brilliant, and he has been brilliant, but you’re judged against your teammate, and that’s the one thing that stands between him right now and a big result. He’s got to consistently get in front of Charles.”
With eight more races to go in 2025, Leclerc is fifth in the Drivers’ Standings with 163 points, 46 points ahead of Hamilton, who is in sixth with 117 points. When Channel 4 host Steve Jones revealed stats that highlighted Leclerc’s superior performance, Coulthard responded:
“Yeah, those are the statistical facts. And I wish I had some kind of guiding light as to how he’s going to turn that around.
“I struggle to buy into the whole change your culture. It’s a race car, right, left, throttle, brake.
“Yes, there’s another way of terminology, but a power unit is a power unit. Downforce is downforce. When you break this sport down to its simplest forms, it’s about human and machine, and the very best at their peak are able to master that.
“So the question is, and I’m going to say it, is he past his peak?”
Addressing Hamilton’s Chinese GP sprint win, Coulthard said:
“It feels that other than that little flash of brilliance in the Sprint in China for Hamilton, and then the unbelievable pole position from Leclerc in Budapest, they’ve been kind of used to the fact that they’re the best team, maybe.”