David Coulthard believes Lewis Hamilton’s hopes of winning the 2026 Formula 1 World Championship are effectively over, despite insisting the Ferrari veteran remains “amazing” behind the wheel.Hamilton’s retirement from the Spanish Grand Prix at Madring was his first DNF of the season. Before Madrid, the seven-time World Champion had completed every racing lap and scored in every Grand Prix.
With Kimi Antonelli holding a commanding championship lead, Coulthard believes Hamilton now needs an extraordinary sequence of events to return to contention.
Asked whether Hamilton was realistically out of the title fight, Coulthard said: “If nature takes its course, yes. Because it would take a run of a series of non-finishes for Kimi. He’s got an 80-odd point lead over his teammate George Russell, over 100 points on Lewis.
“So yeah, do the math. He needs to not finish four races to just bring Lewis into contention. Then we can start talking about it. I just don’t see [it]. You’d have to be very unlucky from reliability or racing Gods point of view for that to happen,” added Coulthard, a 13-time Grand Prix winner.
Hamilton’s 2026 campaign has nevertheless been much stronger than his difficult first Ferrari season. He remains ahead of Charles Leclerc in the Drivers’ Championship, with Coulthard arguing Hamilton has often been Ferrari’s stronger driver.
Hamilton still operating at very high level
Coulthard said: “He does. I find it truly remarkable that after all these years and all this success, that he still wants to turn up. And his performances this year, he’s in front of Charles [Leclerc] in the championship; we keep talking about the data doesn’t lie. He has been more often than not the stronger driver within Ferrari.
“Now, we know this regulation change has made the cars, you know, suit some drivers more than others, which I still don’t fully understand, quite frankly. Because it’s still left right with the steering and throttle brake. But Lewis is still at a very high level.
“How he has that need, why he has that need? Because even if he does win an eighth title, you know, I don’t need him to be an eight- or nine-time world champion to go. The guy is amazing behind the wheel! He’s earned that. He will live that for the rest of his life,” declared
Hamilton’s title hopes now depend on setbacks for Antonelli, but Coulthard sees no decline in the 41-year-old Ferrari superstar’s performance.
Source: Up To Speed on YouTube,
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