Lewis Hamilton declared F1 GOAT in Coulthard ‘delusional’ message
Lewis Hamilton, with the Formula 1 logo behind him in Bahrain.
Lewis Hamilton walking with the Formula 1 logo behind him.
David Coulthard insists Lewis Hamilton is the best of all time and anyone who denies his greatness is “delusional”.
Hamilton is preparing for his final race with Mercedes – with whom he has won six of his seven World Championships and taken 84 of his 105 race wins – at this weekend’s Abu Dhabi Grand Prix which brings the curtain down on the F1 2024 campaign. From F1 2025, Hamilton will be a Ferrari driver.
David Coulthard declares Lewis Hamilton the F1 GOAT
This year, his 12th with the Brackley-based outfit, has been largely one of frustration as he has been outperformed in qualifying by team mate George Russell. Yet he has still won twice, at Silverstone and Spa.
“Lewis is the most influential driver in the history of the sport in terms of what he’s done,” Coulthard declared to PlanetF1.com. “And anyone who denies his greatness is delusional.
“In a data driven business, the data supports him being the greatest Formula 1 driver in the history of the sport.
“Not by World Championships [he shares the record of seven with Michael Schumacher], but I don’t personally think winning an eighth or a ninth can make him any bigger in terms of his impact and legacy.”
Hamilton, 39, has won five times in Abu Dhabi, but has no expectation of a sixth after managing only 12th in Qatar a week ago.
“Lewis has looked and sounded uncomfortable this year,” Coulthard admits.
“As controversial as it is to say – and, inevitably, some of his fans will come back at me with ‘what the f**k did that Scotsman ever achieve to make that statement?!’ – this is not Lewis at his best.
“He’s never been out-qualified by a team-mate as often and as consistently. If we’re being pragmatic, looking at the data, he is not at the peak of his form.
“But Lewis’ legacy as a grand prix driver, as a winning machine, as a World Champion, is one you dream about for your son or daughter. He would make any parent proud.”
Hamilton’s influence extends far and wide, Coulthard believes.
“In terms of diversity and inclusion, but also the way in which he’s won his races and championships. They have been clean.
“Michael and Ayrton [Senna] had a lot of controversy through their careers, and I say that with tremendous respect for both of them. With Lewis, there have been very few of those moments.”
One potential ‘moment’ was in Abu Dhabi three years ago, the infamous race in which Hamilton was denied a record eighth Drivers’ title by Max Verstappen.
Race director Michael Masi incorrectly applied F1’s rulebook to force a restart on the final lap after a late Safety Car and Hamilton, who had dominated, was passed by the Dutchman at the death after not opting for a fresh set of tyres while Verstappen did.
The Briton later admitted he felt “robbed – obviously”, but in the heat of the moment behaved with great dignity, shaking hands with Verstappen before seeking the sanctuary of a long embrace with his father, Anthony.
Coulthard, who won 13 grands prix during his 15 years in F1, racing for Williams, McLaren and Red Bull, insists he was not surprised by the way Hamilton dealt with that blow.
He said: “In this sport you lose more than you win and, in my experience, we have more vivid memories of things when we were younger.
“There will be key moments in his career – I suspect probably karting, where he made a mistake or he was taken off – which he will remember in his young mind in a more passionate way than 2021 when he was 37, or whatever age he was.
“It’s just the nature of human beings. We have vivid memories of things when we were younger because we’ve got less data being stored.
“As you get older and you’ve dealt with disappointments at various stages, one of the things sportspeople do I think better than non sports people is move on.
“Lewis, in that moment, when he was there with his father, he was just a young boy with his dad dealing with another disappointment.
“The fact that it’s Formula 1, the fact it’s at the end of a multi-million pound world championship, doesn’t make it more.
“Because every race he’s done in his entire career was [at the time] the most important race he’s ever done. And [after] every disappointment he’s moved on.”
