Why “punch drunk” Hamilton has to stay positive despite afwul start to the season

16:55, 05 Jun

byTobia Elia

Although a podium finish has yet to arrive this season, David Coulthard believes Lewis Hamilton can still look to the future with cautious optimism.

Fifth fastest in qualifying in Barcelona, only the second time ahead of Charles Leclerc in 2025, followed by yet another bitter Sunday for Lewis Hamilton, who was even overtaken by Nico Hulkenberg’s Sauber in the final laps of the Spanish GP.

A string of results that certainly reflects the poor mood Hamilton displayed during interviews, as he became the center of controversy after the race for responding rather irritably to questions, only to later apologize privately to the journalist.

Yet, according to David Coulthard, the seven-time world champion can and must still find reasons to lift his head and look to the second half of the season with optimism, despite the reality being quite different from the expectations at the start of the year.

Reasons to stay positive

Speaking about the English driver’s situation on Channel 4, the former McLaren and Red Bull driver believes that ''there was an area in the middle of the Grand Prix where he was actually matching Charles and looking like he was finding some comfort there''.

“So, reasons to be positive for Lewis, but right now, I think he’s a little bit punch drunk with the difficulties of getting up to speed with Ferrari. In this case, I think Lewis came into the race, I think he was not delivering the pace at the beginning''.

Coulthard then added: “I think that, whether Lewis likes it or not, the team, in the situation they are right now, if the shoe was on the other foot, I think they’ve got to release the faster car and then sort it out later in the Grand Prix''.

Hamilton now faces the challenge of Montreal, a circuit he has always loved and where he has triumphed seven times in his career. Will it be enough to bounce back?