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David Coulthard was full of praise for Ferrari driver Lewis Hamilton on his return to the podium at the 2026 Chinese Grand Prix.
Ferrari’s run without a Grand Prix victory extended to 30 races at the Chinese Grand Prix, but there was plenty for the tifosi to smile about in Shanghai.
Andrea Kimi Antonelli’s victory ended Italy’s 20-year wait for a Grand Prix winner, and he was joined on the podium by the man he replaced at Mercedes, Lewis Hamilton.
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For the second time since joining Ferrari, Hamilton outqualified Charles Leclerc twice across a Sprint Race weekend, and he now sits just a point behind the Monegasque driver in the championship.
David Coulthard was left thoroughly impressed with Hamilton in Shanghai, and has noticed the seven-time world champion looking far ‘happier’ in the paddock during race weekends.
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David Coulthard lauds Lewis Hamilton ‘masterclass’ at the Chinese Grand Prix
Speaking about Hamilton on the Up To Speed Podcast, Coulthard explained: “Well, I look, I think he drove brilliantly. And there’s no question he’s been a lot happier.
“Ferrari have put on track the second-best car at the moment. They’re an annoyance to Mercedes, but they don’t have the pace in the first two Grand Prix to beat them over that duration.
“But what we have seen is Hamilton somehow adapting to this set of regulations. And although Leclerc came back strong in the second half of the race in Melbourne [Shanghai], and I was kind of watching from the commentary box thinking, OK, when’s Leclerc going to come, Leclerc didn’t.
“That was a Hamilton masterclass in a one-stop race. And I think just taking a step back, that’s probably where George was not able to really push into Kimi and put him under pressure because of that one stop. It was a long way to go on one set of tyres.”
Hamilton has been praised for his battle with Leclerc, and while his younger teammate has always been a master of qualifying, the 41-year-old might be uncovering a weakness in his race pace.
Not only that, but Anthony Davidson thinks Hamilton is getting faster over one lap, meaning he might be the Ferrari driver that Mercedes really need to worry about this season.
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David Coulthard found Ferrari’s Chinese Grand Prix strategy ‘surprising’
One of the best moments of Sunday’s race was watching Hamilton and Leclerc go wheel-to-wheel.
However, this ultimately allowed George Russell to pass both drivers and secure a one-two finish for Mercedes.
Although it’s unlikely that Hamilton could have kept Russell at bay due to Mercedes’ pace advantage, the decision to allow both drivers to take so much time out of each other surprised Coulthard.
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He explained: “They are two number ones. Sometimes it’s uncomfortable to watch, isn’t it?
“I said on commentary, well, look, if Charles is hustling on Lewis, why not just release him?
“See if he can go and put the Mercedes under pressure because you don’t know if there’s going to be another safety car or various other things.
“And then if he doesn’t, then you can then say swap the positions back. All the time they’re racing each other, which is brilliant for us, they’re just losing ground relative to Mercedes.
“So I’m going to assume in the absence of speaking to Fred that they were like, we do not have the pace to win this Grand Prix.
“So, this is about us, doing our thing, and then we’ll develop the car and see if we can battle Mercedes. I was surprised by that, but hell, it gave us a great race.”
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