Abu Dhabi: Lewis Hamilton’s experience and psychological edge following his second world title win last year make him favourite to defend his Formula One crown in the new season — and for years to come.
That’s the view of former F1 driver David Coulthard, who also believes that Hamilton’s scintillating success in 2014 makes him an outstanding contender to be named World Sportsman of the Year at the Laureus World Sports Awards in Shanghai, China, next month.
Two-time world champion Hamilton roared to 11 race victories en route to his global triumph, becoming statistically the greatest British driver in history with 33 grands prix wins.
However, F1 television pundit and analyst Coulthard says the Briton’s Mercedes AMG Petronas teammate Nico Rosberg possesses ‘all the skills’ necessary to emulate Hamilton’s exploits.
Nevertheless, he feels that in order to overcome his fierce rival, last year’s championship runner-up needs to improve his racing ability in the 2015 campaign, which gets underway in Australia this weekend.
Speaking to Laureus.com in his role as ambassador for the awards, the Scot, who won 13 grands prix in a 14-year career between 1994 and 2008, said: “Do I think Lewis Hamilton will win many more world titles? Yes. He goes into the season as a favourite because he is a winning package. He’s got the psychological edge and he’s got all that experience behind him.
“Do I think Nico Rosberg will one day win a world championship? He could have very easily won last year’s,” Coulthard added. “But in the end, I still think that even if he had, Lewis would have been seen as the better racer. The only thing that is left for Nico is to put himself on the same level.
“It is not a question of who is faster, as they are both incredibly fast, but there is just that one area that Lewis has shown himself consistently to be a bit stronger. You can see that as a criticism, but I see it as an observation, or fact, but if Nico can get on top of that, then he’s absolutely got all the skills to be a world champion.”
Meanwhile, Hamilton faces stiff competition to prevail in the Laureus Awards on April 15.
He is one of six nominees for the top sportsman accolade, joining Real Madrid superstar Cristiano Ronaldo, world golf No. 1 Rory McIlory, Spain’s World MotoGP champion Marc Marquez, tennis world No. 1 Novak Djokovic, and Renaud Lavillenie, the French pole vaulter who broke Sergey Bubka’s 21-year-old world record.
Yet ex-Williams, McLaren and Red Bull driver Coulthard insists Hamilton has as good a chance as any of his esteemed fellow contenders, given that he possesses an all-round package of prodigious talent, a rare ability to inspire and laudable maturity.
“He has to be a contender,” the BBC television pundit said. “I really believe he’s grown as a person, he’s matured, he’s turned 30. He’s not necessarily faster than when he started in Formula One, but he would definitely be a better all-around person, which is what life is about.
“If you’ve aced everything at 21, that would be a bit of a disappointment — your life should be a journey full of experiences. You would not react the same way to things when you’re 24, as you would if you were 30 or 40 and it’s just because you have more experience in life.
“I really believe that Lewis is sincere in his appreciation of the support that he’s been given and that he races for the fans and takes energy from them. And I think that is inspirational stuff, because, somewhere out there, there’s a young kid that may or may not have the opportunity to be a racing driver in the future, but is inspired by being able to support someone like Lewis.”
Hamilton may be F1’s leading man, but there are several young up-and-coming talents desperate to take centre stage from him, Coulthard says.
One such is Australian star Daniel Ricciardo, who outperformed four-time world champion and teammate Sebastian Vettel to take third place in the drivers’ championship with three race wins in 2014.
Coulthard enthused: “Daniel for me is a breath of fresh air for Formula One. He’s a great driver, with a great physical commitment to his training and he’s got an endearing, energetic and enthusiastic personality, which I think will really help capture more fans for Formula One, and that’s good for the business.”
What about other emerging drivers to keep an eye on? Coulthard said: “There are a number of new drivers to Formula One: you’ve got Max Verstappen with Toro Rosso and I think everyone is going to be looking in to see how a 17-year-old can get on in racing.
“Personally, you deserve to be there if you’re skilled enough and it is not a question of being too young or too old. What he can’t have, of course, at 17 is life experience and Formula One is not just about driving a racing car, there are a lot of other things, so he will be growing up in the public eye and pressure comes with that.
“There is Carlos Sainz Jr [at Toro Rosso] as well, son of a former of a World Rally Champion, so there will be a lot of media coverage on them. Young guys, but that’s sport, it always brings in the next generation.”
