David Coulthard cannot envisage Lewis Hamilton winning an eighth F1 World Championship with Ferrari after his move from Mercedes left the former Red Bull driver “totally confused.”

With Hamilton struggling to impress since making the blockbuster switch from Mercedes to Ferrari, Coulthard compared that move from Hamilton to Michael Schumacher’s F1 comeback with Mercedes after building a “legacy” at Ferrari, admitting he struggled to understand why Hamilton walked out on his “special” Mercedes relationship.

Lewis Hamilton and Ferrari: Record eighth title not to be?

Additional reporting by Thomas Maher

While Hamilton opened his victory account with Ferrari by winning the China Sprint, such highlights have been few and far between with team-mate Charles Leclerc scoring all three of Ferrari’s podium results so far this season.

Hamilton is sat P6 in the Drivers’ Championship after nine rounds, 23 points behind Leclerc and 115 points off McLaren’s Oscar Piastri in top spot, meaning that realistically Hamilton’s hopes of winning a record eighth title must roll over into F1 2026.

That season to come represents a true unknown, with new chassis and engine regulations to come into effect, bringing the potential for a major shake-up to the pecking order.

And in conversation with German publication Bild, 13-time grand prix winner Coulthard suggested that Hamilton “certainly had different expectations” for how his Ferrari career would have gone thus far and pondered that “maybe he’ll win a grand prix, maybe he’ll win a championship – but maybe not.”

At that point, Coulthard jumped off the fence, and the verdict was not good for Hamilton.

Asked if he thinks Hamilton can win his eighth title with Ferrari, Coulthard replied: “No, it doesn’t look like it.”

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The Scot went on to explain that he was left “totally confused” when Hamilton opted to leave Mercedes for Ferrari, a decision made ahead of the 2024 campaign which came into effect for F1 2025.

As well as equalling Schumacher’s record of seven World Championships while racing in Mercedes colours, Hamilton set various other records during his 12-season association with the team, including most grand prix wins, podiums and pole positions.

“I always had the feeling that Lewis had built up a special relationship and loyalty to Mercedes,” said Coulthard.

“That’s why I was totally confused when I found out about his switch.

“It was a bit like Michael’s return to Formula 1 at Mercedes, even though he had built up such a legacy at Ferrari.

“But ultimately it’s Lewis’ path, his story, his book that he’s writing.”

And Hamilton confirmed that with F1 2025 not going to plan, he will soon be urging Ferrari to put all of their eggs in the F1 2026 basket.

Hamilton told media including PlanetF1.com at the Spanish Grand Prix: “We’ll keep pushing with what we have, but before too soon, I will just be saying, ‘Let’s focus on next year.’

“So we’re building a foundation this year, learning about the tools, the structures, our processes, and just nailing those, so then when we arrive next year, we will be with the car that we really want.”

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