Michael Schumacher parallel drawn ahead Lewis Hamilton's Ferrari switch

Ex-F1 driver David Coulthard has rasied concerns that Ferrari may not get a prime Lewis Hamilton when he joins the team next year. 

Hamilton shocked the F1 world when he announced in February he would be leaving Mercedes after 12 seasons to join rivals Ferrari, taking the seat currently occupied by Carlos Sainz.

Since agonisingly missing out on a record-breaking eighth world title in his controversial defeat to Red Bull’s Max Verstappen in 2021, Hamilton has won just twice amid Mercedes’ competitive struggles in F1’s new era of regulations.

And Coulthard reckons there could be similarities between Hamilton's impending switch and when Michael Schumacher made his F1 comeback with Mercedes in 2010. 

“I suspect [the move] was slightly emotional and in a frustrated place. Some relationships, over time, become a bit stale,” Coulthard told PlanetF1.

“He obviously saw the opportunity at Ferrari a bit like, I guess, Mercedes when they brought Michael back.

“They [Mercedes] thought they were getting the Michael [Schumacher] of his Ferrari era, and then they found out they just got a good Michael.

“Ferrari may end up just getting a good Lewis. A good Lewis is still pretty handy, but he’s been consistently outperformed by George [Russell] this year – maybe not in the championship points table, but in terms of qualifying and that.

“What I lacked in my career was that qualifying speed. If I look at the some of the fastest drivers, your Mikas, Kimis, Michaels, and Ayrtons and whoever else fits into that, these guys just have speed.

“The minute they lose that little bit of speed… I’m not a big football fan, but I hear the analogy about a striker losing a yard – the thing that allowed them to get there and put the ball in the back of the net was they were just that wee bit quicker.

“The minute they lose that speed… they’re still brilliant, but they’re not as. brilliant as they were.

“So Lewis may well not quite deliver what he’s hoping for, because, first of all, he’s got to outqualify Charles.

“I think Charles, at 26/27, he’s still pretty handy, and that may make it difficult for Lewis.”

Coulthard added: “It’s an interesting question, because Lewis has got nothing to prove. He’s a seven-time World Champion.

“He could have been nine or 10, you know, because he’s been pretty close on other occasions. I personally don’t think it’s about how many titles you get that defines how great a driver you are.

“I know the history books… they need that, don’t they? They need him to have eight, so he can be undisputed champion of the world.

“But, whatever he does, there’ll be someone comes along and betters it in the future, because every generation should be better.

“Otherwise, we would not have evolved as humans! So it’s not about trying to cast what he’s achieved.”