David Coulthard explained that the qualifying deficit Lewis Hamilton holds to George Russell this season could be a “changing of the guard” moment at Mercedes.
The former McLaren and Red Bull driver acknowledged that this opinion would “upset a lot of people”, but highlighted that Russell’s advantage over one lap could prove to be the “natural transition” for the seven-time World Champion to head to Ferrari.
Lewis Hamilton qualifying deficit to George Russell a ‘changing of the guard’ moment?
Hamilton trails his Mercedes team-mate 11-4 in the qualifying head-to-head for the season so far, having exited Dutch Grand Prix qualifying at the Q2 stage on Saturday while Russell qualified fourth.
In the Drivers’ Championship, however, Hamilton holds a 32-point advantage over his compatriot, with two race victories to his name compared to one for Russell – with Hamilton having been promoted to top spot in Belgium after his team-mate was disqualified for an underweight car in July.
Coulthard used a football analogy to illustrate that the seven-time World Champion may no longer hold the qualifying edge he had for so long in the past, despite his racecraft at the top level appearing undimmed.
How do Lewis Hamilton and George Russell match up in head-to-head battle this season?
With that, he explained that this season could be the “natural transition” for Hamilton to head to Ferrari and for Mercedes to use junior driver Andrea Kimi Antonelli next year as the potential “bright young thing” in Formula 1.
“I wish I had an explanation for you,” Coulthard told Channel 4 when asked why Hamilton trails the qualifying head-to-head to Russell this season.
“Things that have separated drivers like Lewis from the merely good drivers, it’s an ability to qualify a car, and whatever the conditions are, they usually find a lap time.
“All that’s kind of gone alongside George, and it does therefore feel that it’s a changing of the guard – and I know that will upset a lot of people, because Lewis has still got some brilliant success, I’m sure, ahead of him.
“But I guess it’s like a footballer losing a yard [of pace] at football, they’re still very useful to the team, they’re not as useful as they used to be.
“So maybe it’s turning out to be the natural transition for Lewis to go off to Ferrari, seeking pastures new, for Mercedes to bring in Antonelli and see if he’s the bright young thing that’s going to push George.”