Lewis won’t quit, he’ll never earn so much doing so little

OF ALL the questions that David Coulthard has been asked this weekend, the one about Lewis Hamilton’s future was the easiest.

Hamilton has 18 months remaining on his Mercedes deal. But in the past week the 32-year-old has toyed gleefully with the paddock, first hinting at his impending retirement then saying he could keep racing until he’s almost 40.

But Coulthard knows that money talks in Formula One, as proved by the sport’s presence in Baku this week, home of the Azerbaijan Grand Prix which costs £30million per year to host.

‘It’s a no-brainer,’ said Coulthard. ‘Certainly from a business point of view, Lewis will never earn as much money for doing as little as being a sportsman. It helps facilitate the lifestyle that he’s enjoying, so I can very easily see him going for a few more years yet.

‘He seems to have a healthy balance between his racing and the rest of his life and you need that light and shade. If he was just able to do what he wanted all the time that would be boring for him.’

Coulthard also believes that last year’s crushing disappointment — when Hamilton lost the world title to team-mate and rival Nico Rosberg — was a watershed moment.

‘There are phases that drivers go through,’ said the Channel 4 pundit. ‘In your early 30s if things are not going well you get frustrated, because you know what it takes but it’s just not working out.

‘But he went through that when he came up short in the championship last year. As long as he’s enjoying the challenge, and he looks like he is, I don’t see why he wouldn’t commit to staying.’

Hamilton’s quest for a fourth world crown continues by the Caspian Sea today. Victory in Canada a fortnight ago saw the Briton cut Sebastian Vettel’s lead to 12 points in their championship battle, which has been characterised by the pair’s cordial relations.

Coulthard says that will inevitably change as the season progresses. ‘It’s great when you get some needle between the guys fighting to win,’ he said. ‘It’s like when Lewis and Nico crashed in Barcelona last year. It adds to the drama.

‘The fact Mercedes allowed those two to bang into one another a few times made the last few years interesting. We haven’t seen Lewis and Seb go wheel-to-wheel yet but it’s inevitable they’ll come to blows at some point.’

Coulthard’s former team Red Bull have joined the Mercedes-Ferrari tussle at the front in Baku. But there is no chance of McLaren — where Coulthard spent nine seasons from 1996 — doing the same any time soon.

The Woking-based outfit are propping up this season’s constructors’ table without a point. Things have gone from bad to worse here with Fernando Alonso and Stoffel Vandoorne set to form the back row of today’s grid after being hampered by a series of engine penalties. Patience with supplier Honda is wearing thin, and with a switch to Mercedes power in the pipeline Coulthard says they should act fast. ‘They need a solution,’ he said. ‘I think they have got to bite the bullet.’

CHANNEL 4 is the home of free-to-air Formula 1 with live coverage of 10 Grands Prix this season and comprehensive highlights of every race. Watch the Azerbaijan Grand Prix live on Channel 4, from 1:30pm.