Coulthard sees Hamilton take lead at Mercedes: 'The tide has turned'

F1 News

coulthard on hamilton and russell fight at mercedes
26 June 2023 at 17:05
Last update 26 June 2023 at 18:55
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  • Toby McLuskie

Lewis Hamilton needed some time to get going this season at Mercedes. The seven-time world champion was beaten by his teammate George Russell in qualifying each time in the first three race weekends this year. Meanwhile, Hamilton has regained control at Mercedes, according to David Coulthard.

At the start of the season, Hamilton had a very difficult time with the W14, which the Briton himself admitted. According to the Mercedes driver, the cockpit sits too far forward in W14, which would make the car very unpredictable. In Monaco, Mercedes introduced a major upgrade and since then Hamilton seems much more comfortable in his car, although the cockpit position was not adjusted with this update.

Coulthard sees stronger Hamilton

After the upgrade in Monaco, Hamilton actually qualified and finished ahead of Russell every time. In the process, the Briton also scored two podium finishes, second in Spain and third in Canada. Coulthard sees that something has changed with the seven-time world champion.

"Lewis when he's on form, is a formidable teammate, there's a class there and it doesn't mean he's unbeatable because even the late great Senna was occasionally beaten by his teammates. But I think we've definitely seen a little turning of the tide in terms of Lewis is looking pretty sharp and there's a spring in his voice if you like when he's talking to the team," Coulthard said in the Formula For Success podcast.