The Lewis Hamilton prediction David Coulthard made in Las Vegas that completely backfired

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Lewis Hamilton admitted there was ‘nothing positive’ to take from the Las Vegas Grand Prix. However, before the lights went out at the start of Saturday evening’s race, David Coulthard hadn’t written off the seven-time world champion.

Ferrari fans watched on as Lewis Hamilton became their first driver to qualify last without a penalty or technical error since Giancarlo Fisichella in 2009 in Las Vegas.

He was promoted to 19th on the grid after Yuki Tsunoda opted to start from the pit lane, and there have been several occasions during Hamilton’s career where he’s not let a poor starting position ruin his weekend.

At the 2021 Brazilian Grand Prix, Hamilton made up 15 positions in the Sprint Race from the back of the grid, while four years earlier at Interlagos, he drove from the pit lane to fourth.

Fred Vasseur has refused to talk about Hamilton’s race pace during a season where he’s been consistently beaten by new teammate Charles Leclerc.

Despite this, David Coulthard went into the Las Vegas Grand Prix very confident about the 40-year-old’s chances, but his prediction of a ‘big comeback’ from Hamilton never materialised.

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David Coulthard predicted a ‘big comeback’ for Lewis Hamilton at the Las Vegas Grand Prix

It was put to Coulthard on Channel 4’s coverage of the Las Vegas Grand Prix that this season can’t finish soon enough for Hamilton, to which he responded: “Correct.

“But, every race is an opportunity and even though it’s been painful, Lewis has a real opportunity to come from 20th into the points.

“His pace was quick in free practice; it was the same as Charles, it was just the wet that they’ve had problems with that car, and Lewis got unlucky when the chequered flag fell.

“But, the performance in qualifying is not a reflection of their pace, I think, on this racetrack.

“I think Charles can move forward, and look out for a big comeback from Lewis Hamilton. If Max Verstappen can come from the pit lane, to come through and finish second [third in Brazil], then, OK, maybe the Ferrari isn’t quite there, but they’re more competitive on this race track.”

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Lewis Hamilton’s post-race reaction highlights how tough his 2025 Ferrari campaign has been

Hamilton made a fantastic start to the race in Las Vegas, avoiding all of the chaos ahead of him to move up to P12 very quickly.

However, his progress stalled, and Hamilton questioned Ferrari’s strategy call to bring him in as early as they did.

He came out behind Nico Hulkenberg, but the fact that he couldn’t drive up to the back of the experienced Sauber driver proves he wasn’t able to pull off the ‘big comeback’ that Coulthard anticipated.

Not only that, but Andrea Kimi Antonelli brought into sharp focus what could be achieved after a Q1 exit in Las Vegas.

He eventually finished third after McLaren’s double disqualification, pulling off a remarkable 48-lap stint on the hard compound tyres and overcoming a five-second penalty for a false start to secure the third podium of his Formula 1 career.

In an interview after the race, Hamilton told BBC Sport: “It’s a terrible result. There is nothing positive to take from today.

“I’m eager for it to end. I’m looking forward to it ending. I’m not looking forward to the next one.”

When asked to clarify what he meant by the ‘next one’, he replied, “Next season,” as opposed to the upcoming race in Qatar.