David Coulthard thinks 39-y/o F1 driver ‘on the back foot’ has ‘mentally’ checked out

Follow us on Google Discover

David Coulthard feels Lewis Hamilton is already ‘mentally’ at Ferrari as he looks ‘on the back foot’ against Mercedes teammate George Russell at the 2024 Saudi Arabian GP.

The Silver Arrows could only secure seventh and eighth in qualifying at the Jeddah Corniche Circuit on Friday evening. Russell will start the Saudi Arabian GP as Mercedes’ lead driver on the fourth row beside Hamilton. The pair only achieved laps of 1:28.316 and 1:28.460 in Q3.

Pole position for round two of the season fell at the feet of Max Verstappen, as the Red Bull driver blitzed the field. The three-time reigning Formula 1 champion posted a 1:27.472 time in Q3, beating Charles Leclerc of Ferrari by 0.319 seconds in the fight for the front-row spots.

Russell out-qualifies Hamilton at the Saudi Arabian GP

Red Bull driver Sergio Perez plus three Mercedes-powered cars even out-qualified the Silver Arrows of Russell and Hamilton in Jeddah. Aston Martin ace Fernando Alonso will join Perez on the second row. McLaren locked up the third row through Oscar Piastri and Lando Norris.

Hamilton could not post a more competitive lap time in qualifying due to the seven-time F1 champion struggling with the rear end of his Mercedes. The Briton often wrestled with the W15 to try and prevent it from snapping through the middle and final sectors of the circuit.

Coulthard feels Hamilton has checked out of Mercedes

The Saudi Arabian GP also marks two rounds from two where Hamilton will start behind his Mercedes teammate, Russell, since announcing the 39-year-old is leaving the team. He will move to Maranello next year to replace Carlos Sainz after agreeing a multi-year Ferrari deal.

Hamilton even triggered the escape clause in the contract he only signed last August to quit Mercedes. So, seeing the Stevenage-born driver qualify P9 at the Bahrain GP as Russell took third and only managing P8 in Saudi Arabia leaves Coulthard feeling like he has checked out.

“He’s just not been settled with this car,” Coulthard said on Channel 4 (8/3, 21:56). “You can tell, George is just owning the lap time right now.

“And you can tell that Lewis is on the back foot. What we do know, though, if he does find a window of performance, then he will deliver. But, right now, it’s looking like his decision to head off to Ferrari… mentally, he’s already there.”