It’s a query that has accompanied us all through 2024 and can proceed not less than till March: was Lewis Hamilton a technical asset for Ferrari, or was his signing pushed solely by business causes, because the fiercest critics declare?
The 2024 Method 1 championship, which concluded on December 8 with the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, was not top-of-the-line for the seven-time F1 world champion, this can be a well-established reality. The constructive facet was his return to victory: he received twice, each on iconic and extremely demanding tracks like Silverstone and Spa-Francorchamps. The draw back is that he as soon as once more misplaced the interior battle each in qualifying and in races. This case mirrored on the standings, with George Russell as soon as once more forward of his fellow countryman.
These information led some to imagine that the British driver was on the decline. Clearly, we’re speaking a few driver who will flip 40 in just a few days, so it’s pure to not anticipate his profession to nonetheless be creating towards its peak. Nevertheless, one have to be cautious with harsh judgments, avoiding drawing maybe hasty conclusions.
Lewis Hamilton didn’t have a blended season as a consequence of a scarcity of motivation or due to an inside battle inside Mercedes after his change to Ferrari was introduced on February 1. No, the British driver paid the worth as a result of W15, a automobile he by no means actually related with, particularly by way of reaching quick lap instances, the place the sensation and symbiosis with the automobile have to be whole.
To start with, it must be emphasised that the common hole Lewis Hamilton needed to George Russell in qualifying was amplified by way of grid positions. With a really carefully matched efficiency bundle, even dropping just a few tenths might value a number of positions. This dynamic magnified the distinction between the 2 Mercedes drivers.
The pinnacle of observe engineering, Andrew Shovlin, defined that Hamilton’s difficulties had been primarily as a consequence of a automobile that wasn’t very quick and had a setup window that was too slender. Some could rightfully level out that these points additionally affected George Russell.
One of many technical traits of the W15 was its tendency to lock the brakes throughout braking, a characteristic that didn’t swimsuit Hamilton’s driving model, particularly for the reason that former McLaren driver prefers {smooth} braking. Moreover, the automobile tended to take not-so-smooth racing strains exiting corners, behaving virtually “in jerks,” one other issue not according to Hamilton’s driving model. In races the place these points had been overcome, like Silverstone, Spa-Francorchamps, and even Las Vegas, Lewis managed to carry his personal and ship robust performances. Nevertheless, the issue was that the automobile couldn’t carry out like this persistently over the course of the 24 races.
Many drivers who are likely to excel at braking have confronted difficulties with the new-generation automobiles. Hamilton’s points had been evident in all three years of all these automobiles. So, are the traits of ground-effect automobiles one thing the British champion has by no means totally tailored to? In response to Shovlin, that isn’t the answer to the puzzle.
Within the engineer’s opinion, the issue stemmed from a attribute that has plagued Mercedes automobiles over the previous three years: getting the automobile to rotate whereas stopping overheating of the rear tires. In actual fact, final 12 months Hamilton had complained extensively in regards to the rear finish of the W14, even elevating doubts in regards to the automobile’s design philosophy. These issues grew so massive and convincing that the creator of that automobile, Mike Elliott, was successfully sidelined from the group till his contract was terminated.
Lewis Hamilton’s driving model exacerbated the issues on a single lap. The problem in holding the rear tires inside the ideally suited operational window was felt considerably this season, resulting in a transparent inside defeat by way of pushing on a lap.
George Russell demonstrated higher adaptability to the traits of the Silver Arrow. It’s not that Hamilton didn’t attempt to use setups much like his teammate’s, however the outcomes had been virtually by no means passable. Lewis’ issues turned evident when pushing to the utmost on a quick lap. It was in these circumstances – and we noticed this repeatedly within the dynamic habits of the W15 – that the difficulties with the rear finish turned obvious.
The automobile tended to snap into oversteer, forcing Lewis to “combat” from the middle of the nook to the exit, which induced him to lose valuable hundredths of a second in every flip. This habits was due each to the setups and to how the quick lap was ready with rear tires that weren’t completely within the thermal window.
Mercedes, in keeping with Shovlin himself, did not persistently present a automobile that allowed Lewis to succeed in the restrict primarily based on his driving model. It wasn’t straightforward to enter a superb stability window and, particularly for Lewis, as soon as that window was reached, it wasn’t straightforward to keep up it. This explains weekends that began properly by way of setup however ended poorly with an incapacity to adapt to a altering observe. These points pale when the distances elevated. On race tempo, Hamilton typically confirmed that he was forward of his teammate, however observe place strongly penalized him as a result of he generally needed to recuperate many positions, on condition that he didn’t all the time make it into Q3, one thing Russell managed with extra consistency.
Lewis Hamilton and his prospects at Ferrari
Lewis Hamilton arrives at Ferrari hoping to discover a automobile – at present known as Mission 677 – that’s extra easy and has a wider operational window, enabling him to be quick within the race – one thing that occurs comparatively simply – but in addition in qualifying.
On the one lap, the British driver will seemingly face the most effective qualifier on the grid, that means the interior battle might flip right into a form of nightmare for the seven-time world champion. In 2024, Charles Leclerc, whereas beating Carlos Sainz, often confirmed some issue in getting the Pirelli tires into the appropriate window.
A whole lot of work was completed with Callum Frith, Ferrari’s tire chief, however not all difficulties have been overcome. The Ferrari SF-24, at one level, took a growth course that wasn’t solely suited to the Monegasque driver’s model, which considerably resembles Hamilton’s. Like Lewis, Charles prefers a extra stable entrance finish with a rear finish that’s simpler to regulate.
The rear axle must be guided with out exhibiting the jerky actions Shovlin talked about. With the updates launched in the course of the summer time, Ferrari turned a automobile that was much less susceptible to understeer and simpler to drive with a rear finish underneath management; this helped Charles, who within the second half of 2024 was the motive force who collected probably the most factors of all the opposite contenders.
Subsequent 12 months, Ferrari may have two drivers who, usually, want a automobile with very particular traits, in contrast to what occurred in 2024 with Carlos Sainz, who tends to favor barely understeering automobiles. Clearly, this divergence in driving kinds has additionally mirrored within the growth path taken by the Maranello engineers and technicians. Subsequent 12 months, nonetheless, the trail to comply with might be a single one: each drivers may gain advantage from this technical situation.
Clearly, we do not need a crystal ball, nor can we intend to make predictions about what the interior battle at Ferrari will yield, nevertheless it’s potential to think about that the 2025 automobile, if it follows the traits seen within the ultimate months of the 2024 season, could possibly be a device that enables Hamilton to beat the difficulties encountered over the past world championship.
Alternatively, Ferrari additionally has some small points to handle, as group principal Frederic Vasseur stated in the course of the end-of-year press convention. Resolving the thermal administration points with the tires which have often emerged is essential to keep away from the sinusoidal sample that characterised the 2024 season.
At Maranello, they need to keep away from the highs and lows that finally weighed on the constructors’ championship battle, and so they intend to arrange a quick automobile proper from the beginning, one that may develop regardless that beginning January 1, it is going to be potential to work on the brand new era automobiles that can characterize the 2026 championship.
Lewis Hamilton hopes to discover a automobile that isn’t as temperamental because the final three he needed to drive underneath the Mercedes banner. We’ll see if Ferrari’s technicians can succeed on this endeavor and if the difficulties the British champion confronted final 12 months had been actually technical and never, as critics declare, as a consequence of a driver on the decline.
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