'Hollywood' Hamilton entering 'final chapter' at Ferrari - Coulthard

"Hollywood" Lewis Hamilton is entering the "final chapter" at Ferrari, reckons David Coulthard, who was appearing as a guest on the RacingNews365 podcast. 

Hamilton is a veteran of 356 grands prix and has only missed a single race since his debut at the 2007 Australian GP - this being the 2020 Sakhir GP when he tested positive for COVID-19, and for his 19th F1 season has joined Ferrari. 

He believes the Scuderia offers a better chance to win the elusive eighth drivers' crown to break the record he jointly holds with Michael Schumacher, with the news of the defection from Mercedes sending shockwaves through F1 when it was announced in February 2024.

For Coulthard, a veteran of 246 grands prix, Hamilton to Ferrari is "a Hollywood" script, but as he nears the end of the career, the driver-turned-pundit also offered an interesting theory linked to Hamilton's longevity about why he struggled so badly in his final Mercedes season.

"The worrying thing about Lewis in the last couple of years was that he just didn't seem to be as settled with the performance profile of the car," Coulthard told the RacingNews365 podcast. 

"[He might] have had racing driver fatigue - he's been doing it for so long that he needed a change, which sometimes you need in life and relationships to rediscover that mojo.

"He certainly seems to be and it is a Hollywood script, Lewis going to Ferrari, he looks incredible, is defying his age in terms of how fit he is and comes off the back of being the most successful driver in the history of the sport.

"There are so many things to be excited about, but we just can't write that final chapter yet, there will be a final chapter and it may be in two years, certainly within the next five.

"There will be a final chapter and then we will be able to make that judgment, so I go into it with an open mind.

"I go into it super excited and with full knowledge that no matter what any of us think, the potential and opportunity lie in his hands, in the hands of one of the greatest drivers in the history of the sport."

The full podcast with David Coulthard is available wherever you get your podcasts. Simply search RacingNews365 and make sure to subscribe to never miss an episode!