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 System 1 championship, which concluded on December 8 with the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, was not probably the greatest for the seven-time F1 world champion, this can be a well-established reality. The constructive facet was his return to victory: he gained 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 inner battle each in qualifying and in races. This example mirrored on the standings, with George Russell as soon as once more forward of his fellow countryman.
These information led some to consider that the British driver was on the decline. Clearly, we’re speaking a couple of driver who will flip 40 in a number of days, so it’s pure to not count on his profession to nonetheless be creating towards its peak. Nonetheless, one should be cautious with harsh judgments, avoiding drawing maybe hasty conclusions.
Lewis Hamilton didn’t have a combined season on account of an absence of motivation or due to an inside battle inside Mercedes after his swap to Ferrari was introduced on February 1. No, the British driver paid the worth because of the W15, a automobile he by no means really linked with, particularly by way of reaching quick lap instances, the place the sensation and symbiosis with the automobile should be complete.
Initially, it needs to 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 a number of tenths may price a number of positions. This dynamic magnified the distinction between the 2 Mercedes drivers.
The top of observe engineering, Andrew Shovlin, defined that Hamilton’s difficulties had been primarily on account of a automobile that wasn’t very quick and had a setup window that was too slim. 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 go well with Hamilton’s driving model, particularly because the 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. Nonetheless, the issue was that the automobile couldn’t carry out like this persistently over the course of the 24 races.
Many drivers who are inclined to excel at braking have confronted difficulties with the new-generation automobiles. Hamilton’s points had been evident in all three years of most of these automobiles. So, are the traits of ground-effect automobiles one thing the British champion has by no means absolutely tailored to? In accordance with 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 truth, final yr Hamilton had complained extensively concerning the rear finish of the W14, even elevating doubts concerning the automobile’s design philosophy. These considerations grew so giant 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 throughout the preferrred 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 grew to become 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 grew to become obvious.
The automobile tended to snap into oversteer, forcing Lewis to “struggle” from the middle of the nook to the exit, which prompted him to lose treasured 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 line with Shovlin himself, didn’t persistently present a automobile that allowed Lewis to succeed in the restrict primarily based on his driving model. It wasn’t straightforward to enter stability window and, particularly for Lewis, as soon as that window was reached, it wasn’t straightforward to take care of it. This explains weekends that began nicely by way of setup however ended poorly with an incapacity to adapt to a altering observe. These points light when the distances elevated. On race tempo, Hamilton usually confirmed that he was forward of his teammate, however observe place strongly penalized him as a result of he generally needed to get well many positions, on condition that he didn’t at all times 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 the moment referred to 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 only lap, the British driver will seemingly face one of the best qualifier on the grid, which means the inner battle may flip right into a kind of nightmare for the seven-time world champion. In 2024, Charles Leclerc, whereas beating Carlos Sainz, sometimes confirmed some problem in getting the Pirelli tires into the fitting window.
Quite a 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 improvement route that wasn’t fully suited to the Monegasque driver’s model, which considerably resembles Hamilton’s. Like Lewis, Charles prefers a extra strong entrance finish with a rear finish that’s simpler to manage.
The rear axle must be guided with out exhibiting the jerky actions Shovlin talked about. With the updates launched throughout the summer time, Ferrari grew to become 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 essentially the most factors of all the opposite contenders.
Subsequent yr, Ferrari may have two drivers who, generally, favor a automobile with very particular traits, not like what occurred in 2024 with Carlos Sainz, who tends to favor barely understeering automobiles. Clearly, this divergence in driving types has additionally mirrored within the improvement path taken by the Maranello engineers and technicians. Subsequent yr, nevertheless, the trail to observe shall be a single one: each drivers may benefit from this technical situation.
Clearly, we don’t have a crystal ball, nor will we intend to make predictions about what the inner battle at Ferrari will yield, nevertheless it’s potential to think about that the 2025 automobile, if it follows the tendencies seen within the ultimate months of the 2024 season, could possibly be a device that permits Hamilton to beat the difficulties encountered over the past world championship.
However, Ferrari additionally has some small points to handle, as group principal Frederic Vasseur mentioned throughout the end-of-year press convention. Resolving the thermal administration points with the tires which have sometimes emerged is essential to keep away from the sinusoidal sample that characterised the 2024 season.
At Maranello, they wish to keep away from the highs and lows that in the end weighed on the constructors’ championship battle, they usually intend to arrange a quick automobile proper from the beginning, one that may develop although beginning January 1, will probably be potential to work on the brand new technology 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 yr had been really technical and never, as critics declare, on account of a driver on the decline.
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