Lewis Hamilton Favourite but Sebastian Vettel Has Outside Chance to Win F1 Title: David Coulthard

Former Formula One driver David Coulthard believes Lewis Hamilton will once again be the championship "favourite" but Mercedes will not be dominant this season. Sebastian Vettel's victory for Ferrari in Malaysian Grand Prix took the F1 fraternity by surprise and Coulthard feels the German will have an outside chance of claiming his fifth drivers' title.

"I think Lewis could retain his title because he has momentum behind him. But equally, I think that Nico could win the title. If Sebastian continues his form, he has an outside chance," Coulthard told Mid-day.

Mercedes dominated the 2014 season and also had a 1-2 finish at the season-opening Australian Grand Prix last month. This prompted teams, Ferrari and Red Bull Racing in particular, to call for change in rules.

"I didn't think he (Vettel) would win in such a strong manner (in Malaysia). What that shows is F1 teams can evolve very quickly once they find the right direction. There were calls after Australian GP that big changes had to be made otherwise it was just going to be runaway (season) for Mercedes. But we've already got the answer. Ferrari are back. Now, you have to watch out for Williams, Red Bull and McLaren -- eventually all of those teams will be back as well," Coulthard said.

Coulthard was caught in a controversy on Sunday when he dropped India's tri-colour during a Red Bull F1 show in Hyderabad. The incident happened when Coulthard apparently failed to keep the flag properly on the front seat of a car designated to take him around the crowd. He apologised following the incident and said it was never his intention to disrespect the flag.

"I must apologise for dropping the flag. From my point of view we don't have this tradition or rule in our country. So, I would never disrespect the country and I would never disrespect the flag," he said.