Hill criticises Coulthard over Hamilton

Opening the central stage at the Autosport International Show, Hill reflected on Coulthard's chances this year, and the BRDC president admitted he was underwhelmed by Coulthard's career path so far.

"David Coulthard has got so much experience now that there's really no excuse not to be able to [win the world championship]," Hill said. "He can win Grands Prix, but maybe that window of opportunity has passed David by.

"You can't say that for sure, because it's happened in the past that drivers have suddenly found themselves in a well-placed and competitive car. If that car turns out to be competitive, then there's no reason why David couldn't win on a regular basis.

"But you have to say, his career has shown that he has not grabbed opportunities that perhaps might have been right there in front of him. Maybe he'll change in the latter part of his career - he's now 35 or something, and I won the championship when I was 36. So he's still young enough to convert that into a championship, given the chance."

Asked by F1 Racing's editor-in-chief Matt Bishop to comment on Coulthard's recent assessment of Hamilton's early F1 debut, Hill was adamant that Hamilton is ready and will be in F1 for many years to come.

"David perhaps is revealing his slight reflection on the fact that he was a young driver once like Lewis is," Hill said.

"Lewis is the future, he's going to be in F1 for a good few years, and let's hope that Lewis has more success and makes more of his opportunities [than Coulthard]. I mean, you have to say it's now possible to reflect on DC's career in that respect.

"And I think it's not well founded, that assessment. I think Lewis Hamilton has a proven track record of being a winner in GP2. And I think that he's been well coached and guided by a very professional team in McLaren and Ron Dennis."

Despite that, Hill warned Hamilton that he will only have a very short period of grace before he is expected to deliver and beat teammate Fernando Alonso.

"The first season is the toughest, but all he has to do is be right on the heels of Fernando Alonso, two times world champion, and I think his confidence will grow and grow," Hill said. "And it's very plausible that he'll get a GP win during the season.

"You've got a season's grace - maybe even half a season's grace - because people will give him the leeway and the benefit of the doubt for that first six months.

"But then, in the end of the season, if he hasn't outpaced Fernando at one point or another, people will be saying 'where is it? where's that spark? where's that thing?'

"Because you have to accept that drivers that have gone to become great drivers - like Michael Schumacher, like Alain Prost, like Ayrton Senna - they arrived and they went 'bang'. They just were on the scene, on the pace, outpacing their teammate and they were there right from the word go.

"So there is a little pressure, it is fair to say that, but I don't think that Lewis Hamilton is the sort of person who underestimates that. I think he understands that and respect that. He's got a window of opportunity to learn, but it's going to be a short one."

Hill also reminded the crowd that he himself is closely familiar with Hamilton's situation - the 1996 world champion's first teammate in Formula One was none other than world champion Alain Prost, and his next teammate was triple champion Ayrton Senna.

"It's very like that," Hill commented. "My first two teammates were great drivers. I had that umbrella - I knew nobody expected me to beat Alain Prost or Ayrton Senna, so I had that kind of protective shield, if you like, that they were the guys that were expected to go out there and do the big job.

"But in the back of my mind - or rather in the front of my mind - I was always thinking, I know I have to beat these guys, because if I can beat Alain Prost, then what does that make me?

"So it's a tantalising thing - it's a wonderful gift as well, to be put in a team with a guy like Fernando Alonso for Lewis, because he knows all he has to do is beat Fernando Alonso and then by definition he's a potential two times world champion."