Lewis Hamilton termed as the “biggest disappointment” of 2024 by former Red Bull driver

Former Red Bull driver David Coulthard called Lewis Hamilton 'the biggest disappointment' of the 2024 F1 season. In his opinion, the seven-time world champion has never hit this low in his glorious racing career.

Hamilton signed a multiyear deal with Scuderia Ferrari in the off-season and spent the whole of the 2024 season with Mercedes as a farewell tour. However, despite wanting to finish things on a high, the British driver struggled throughout the year to extract pace from the W15 series.

He was out-qualified by George Russell in 19 of the 23 race weekends. While he did break his career's longest winless streak at Silverstone, the 39-year-old finished P7 in the drivers' championship with 223 points.

Former Red Bull driver and a 13-time race winner, David Coulthard reflected on Hamilton's underwhelming season and shared his candid take.

Taking to ViaPlay this week, Coulthard said (as quoted by PlanetF1):

“I would still point to Lewis as the biggest disappointment. I know that’s controversial as he’s a seven-time World Champion and a real winning machine, but I’ve never seen this Lewis in Formula 1. He was beaten in qualifying, while the greats can always find speed somewhere to squeeze out a qualifying lap when it really matters."

Lewis Hamilton is a seven-time world champion with the most race wins (105) and pole positions (104) in the history of the sport. His era of dominance with Mercedes from 2013 to 2020 was extraordinary. However, following regulations changes in 2021, Mercedes saw a dip in performance, resulting in Hamilton's dissatisfaction.

He struggled hard to extract performance from the car that was fundamentally wrecked. While the Silver Arrows tried their best to fix the issues, cost cap restrictions and reliability issues with simulation data held them back.

From the 2025 season onwards, Hamilton will be a Scuderia Ferrari driver. He will replace Carlos Sainz after signing a multi-year contract.

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Lewis Hamilton discloses how he is approaching his debut year with Ferrari

Lewis Hamilton (Image Source: Getty)

Seven-time world champion Lewis Hamilton will be entering a new phase of his career as he moves to Scuderia Ferrari this year. He will replace Carlos Sainz and team up with Charles Leclerc. Ahead of his induction, the British driver stated that his approach with the Italian team will be similar to that with Mercedes.

Talking to Motorsportweek, he said:

"Of course, it really sparks motivation, and it’s a dream scenario for any driver to have an opportunity like this. Coming into next year with that same focus, that same might that I had when I joined Mercedes, and with ultimately that leap of faith, I think is exciting and exhilarating," Hamilton said.

Lewis Hamilton hasn't been consistent with his performance and pace since 2021. And at the age of 40, a transition to Ferrari, an iconic F1 team, could be challenging if he fails to adjust to the new environment.