Lewis Hamilton endured a challenging season in 2024 (Image: Getty)
Former F1 star David Coulthard has labelled ’s performances the ‘biggest disappointment’ of the 2024 season. The seven-time world champion finished a career-worst seventh in the Drivers’ Championship standings despite claiming two race wins.
The 2024 season was a rollercoaster ride for Hamilton, both in terms of results and on a personal level. The Brit ended a 945-day winless streak with a record-breaking ninth British Grand Prix triumph and also inherited the race win in Belgium, but his qualifying form throughout the year was a cause for concern.
Hamilton was beaten 19-5 by team-mate in qualifying, and while the legendary Brit’s race pace was still exemplary, his poor starting positions often took him out of contention for podium finishes. Now, with a blockbuster move to ahead of him, the pressure is on to step up in 2025.
“I would still point to Lewis as the biggest disappointment,” Coulthard told Viaplay. “I know that’s controversial as he’s a seven-time World Champion and a real winning machine, but I’ve never seen this Lewis in Formula One. He was beaten in qualifying, while the greats can always find speed somewhere to squeeze out a qualifying lap when it really matters.”
Coulthard continued: “, of course, signed him early in the year, and then everyone was very enthusiastic. ’s shares shot up so fast that they have probably already eliminated all the costs of bringing in Lewis, and [Fred] Vasseur of course knows him well.
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David Coulthard was frustrated by Hamilton’s performances in 2024 (Image: Getty)
“But Formula One remains a sport that is very dependent on data. The stopwatch doesn’t lie, and at the moment, it just doesn’t deliver in terms of lap times. So they have to worry a little bit.
“But sometimes change is also good. Maybe the switch to for Hamilton, putting on that red suit, works the same as Superman putting on his suit. But it will be an exciting time anyway.”
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Hamilton will have his work cut out for him when his debut season in ’s scarlet red gets underway in Melbourne. The Brit is exiting a brutal intra-team battle with Russell and heading straight into an equally tough match-up against Charles Leclerc, one of the best qualifiers on the grid.
Fortunately, the 40-year-old can look forward to plenty of testing ahead of his debut. According to a report from , plan to use their entire 1,000km TPC allocation on Hamilton before the season gets underway, with his first outing coming in the form of a Fiorano test on January 20th or 21st.