Former driver and BBC pundit David Coulthard believes Lewis Hamilton's trust in Mercedes strategy calls has eroded since the German team's epic pit stop fail in Monaco two weeks ago.
Although Hamilton also engaged in the ill-fated decision to pit during the Safety Car period and was therefore partly responsible for his race's disappointing outcome, Coulthard still thinks the current world championship leader will exert caution the next time his team makes a strategic call.
“The next time Mercedes come over the radio and tell Lewis to come into the pits, expect him to be a little more than wary in his response. And quite rightly so," Coulthard wrote in his Daily Telegraph column.
The Scott believes any unintentional undermining between team and driver will undoubtedly work against Hamilton's quest for success.
“It will be extremely tricky to manage. An instruction from the team does not necessarily have to be obeyed, but if as a driver you start doubting every call then the fundamentals of how Formula 1 works start to break down.
“Lewis will come back in Canada knowing that he has the speed, but it will take time to heal the wounds and rebuild his total trust in the team.”
Click here for F1i's Canadian Grand Prix preview
Keep up to date with all the F1 news via Facebook and Twitter
