David Coulthard puts forward explanation for Lewis Hamilton’s Barcelona crash
“And it doesn’t matter if you were the late, great Ayrton Senna, Michael Schumacher, or the current Ferrari driver, Lewis Hamilton, we can all have an off at any certain point.”
Ex-F1 driver David Coulthard has suggested Lewis Hamilton’s crash during his first Barcelona test was related to the difference in power delivery from the Ferrari engine.
Hamilton shunted the SF-23 on his second day of running in Barcelona last week.
The seven-time world champion was unhurt after clattering the barriers in the final sector of the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya.
Limited information about the incident has been released to the public, but it did mean that Charles Leclerc couldn’t run afterwards.
Ferrari were quick to downplay the severity of the crash, stating that it’s a normal part of getting up to speed with a new team.
It could be a good omen for Hamilton as he crashed out in his first test with McLaren in 2007 and then did the same with Mercedes in 2013.
Coulthard puts forward Hamilton theory
For the first time in his F1 career, Hamilton is not driving with a Mercedes engine.
Mercedes powered McLaren during his six years with the team between 2007 and 2012.
Then he spent 12 seasons with Mercedes from 2013 to 2024.
The various F1 power units have slightly different quirks - something Hamilton must adapt to.
Giving his view on the Formula for Success podcast, Coulthard said: “Much was made about his recent test in Barcelona, he had a small off there, any small off you can call a crash.
“And I was at the Autosport Awards last night and walking the red carpet. The more tabloidy journalists that were invitedto that were all going, ‘Oh, what have you heard about the crash?’
“Going off is an occupational hazard. And it doesn’t matter if you were the late, great Ayrton Senna, Michael Schumacher, or the current Ferrari driver, Lewis Hamilton, we can all have an off at any certain point.
“And I see it as simply as this. He has to get used to the control systems in that Ferrari, the power delivery.
“We’re dealing with hybrid engines, so it’s not the sort of natural torque acceleration of an internal combustion engine, electrical energy comes in like that. And I suspect it was just, he’s so embedded in his mind about the Mercedes hybrid Formula 1 engine that he was simply caught out.”
Hamilton’s second F1 test in Barcelona went smoothly as he drove Ferrari’s 2024 F1 challenger - the SF-24.
The 40-year-old’s next on-track appearance is set to be at Fiorano, when they launch the 2025 car.
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