Lewis Hamilton: The problems of the sevenfold World Champion F1 and Ferrari should solve before the Chinese Grand Prix | F1 news
In his own words, Lewis Hamilton, his debut Ferrari became “much worse” than expected, but he has the opportunity to hit straight on the Grand Prix this weekend.
Hamilton qualified the eighth and finished 10th in a Sunday chaotic wet race in Melbourne as he struggled to stay out of the wall.
The 40-year-old briefly led the Grand Prix, but Ferrari’s bad strategy of staying on hard tires during the late rainy shower was suffocated by Hamilton and Charles Leclerca’s chances to end up in the top five.
After the worst result of the season finish, Hamilton will hope that a unique international circle in Shanghai provides a better wealth for Ferrari.
Sky Sports F1 See key areas that will look for the sevenfold world champion in search of improvement this weekend.
Clearer radio communication
Much of the first Hamilton race in one of Ferrari’s famous cockpit was characterized by his radio communication with his new runner engineer Riccard Adami.
After 12 years of working with the ‘Bono’ Bonnington Peter in this role on the extremely successful effect on Mercedes, there was inevitably there was a period of adaptation to Hamilton and Adami to achieve their best way to work in what is the ugliest driver’s relationship throughout the team.
Melbourne has certainly emphasized that early work comes to the place they want to be, although it should be something that the couple can be ironing quite quickly.
In the heat of the battle, drivers – including even Hamilton sometimes with Bonnington over the years – I can express irritation with their team radio engineers, but the sevenfold world champion was generally decent in his answers to Adami’s intervention, gently asked the Italian on several occasions that he “left me on him, please.
Hamilton seemed to become a little more frustrated as his heavy race developed, although at one point he was still apologized after letting it explicit with a radio -a channel that still realized that Ferrari’s strategy was longer on skates in a back rain and cost them.
After the race, Hamilton said that “guidance in terms of how much more rain [was coming] He missed “from the wall of the pit, even though he still had warm words for Adami, saying that the engineer did a” really good job “and that he would” go through all the comments – the things I said and vice versa “to see what could be improved.
“Generally, I’m not one who loves a lot of information in the race, unless I’m looking for them,” added Hamilton, who spent most of the race stuck behind Williams’ Alex Albona.
“He did his best and we will move forward.”
Listening to communicating with the Cave-Zid-Automobil through the race, team chief Frederic Vassur said: “I thought we could do a better job and get to know each other a little more. Surely it’s not pure at all, but the strategy was difficult.
“We need to find a better way to communicate between cars and walls of the pit, but we will learn from the race first and that is not a problem.”
How long will it take for Hamilton to adapt to Ferrari?
Hamilton said he was “further” in adaptation to Ferrari in front of Australia, but quickly realized that on Friday he was still “way to go” in training.
When Hamilton moved from McLaren to Mercedes in 2013, he was immediately paired and surpassed the then teammate Nico Rosberg on the introductory three races.
At that time, the F1 was a different beast with V8 engines and completely different cars handling. Today, turbo-hybrid machines are incredibly complicated, and the maximum tire draw is also a challenge.
“It takes a long time to adjust,” said Vassur, who managed Hamilton during the career of the GP2 British driver before F1.
“We made two days on a racing weekend, it’s not a mega long period and we don’t have to get out of conclusions. We focus on what we do. I think it’s a question to adapt to Lewis something.”
There is only one exercise at the Chinese Grand Prix this weekend, because it is a sprint event, which is not ideal for Hamilton.
The two-week gap followed in front of triple water in April in Japan, Bahrein and Saudi Arabia, where the 40-year-old would collect a lot of miles and had time to adapt to the car.
So what about Hamilton’s speed?
The biggest questionnaire that entered the season was surrounded by Hamilton’s qualifying pace after George Russell defeated him last year.
Hamilton goes against someone who see some as the fastest driver in one round, in Leclerca, but there were only a few dozen qualifications, because it seemed to be most of the practice.
“Charles has been in this team for seven years, he has known this car and goes out,” Hamilton said.
“Not necessarily a new, but general characteristics of our cars and all tools and everything.
“I’m still learning the ones so that they are so close in my first qualifying session, I will definitely take it. We will just lower our heads and start working trying to find out why we are not in step with the front runners.”
We did not clearly read Hamilton’s pace of the race because he was moist in Melbourne, and he had barely circles in the clean air because he was behind Albona.
Dry, sunny conditions are predicted for Shanghai, which is known for punishing tires, so the good wearing of the tires will be crucial, and this was the power of the Hamilton in Mercedes. Will it be translated into Ferrari?
“I learned a huge amount of this weekend. There’s a lot to take away,” he said.
“I have some changes I will make for China and see how it goes. Sunday was a collision in the Ferrari drive in the rain.”
What about Ferrari itself?
Ferrari hoped that at least in the fight for the pedestal in Melbourne, and Charles Leclerc would set up a pace in another practice certainly amplifiers.
They seemed to make a mistake on the qualifying setting, and neither Leclerc nor Hamilton was able to move forward in a wet race.
It is far too early to judge a true pace of Ferrari, so this is certainly the one we can say that watching this space, and even Vassur says that appearance in Australia is not the right picture.
“Our expectation is always the best we can do with the car we have, and we will keep exactly the same motivation,” he added.
“We do not go somewhere saying that the target is P1, P3, P12, the goal is to do the best job we can do, and this weekend we didn’t do the best job we can do.
“We start at first in China, but we always have to keep in mind that last four races last year, the last four weekends, McLaren, Red Bull, Mercedes and the United States, have won one of the last four events, always with big gaps.
“Mercedes was flying in Vegas, we won in Austin and Mexico, and that changed the weekend after the weekend, because at the end of the day the fight is tight, and if the car does not adjust the weekend, the tires, the temperature of the trail, then you are completely out of the performance range and I think this weekend will be a different story.”
Sky Sports F1, Live Chinese GP schedule
Thursday 20th March
- 5:00: A driver’s press conference
Friday 21st March
- 1:00: F1 Academic Practice
- 3:00: Chinese Practice GP -One (session starts at 3.30am)*
- 5.30 pm: A press conference of the Director of the Tim Director
- 6:00: F1 Academy of Qualifications*
- 6.45pm: Chinese GP Sprint qualifying (session starts at 7.30)*
Saturday 22. March
- 2.25 hours: Sprint of Chinese GP Sprint
- 3:00: Chinese GP Sprint*
- 5.45pm: F1 Academy of Race 1*
- 6.35: 00: Chinese GP qualifying buildup*
- 7:00: Chinese qualifying general practice*
- 9:00: TED -O’s qualifying notebook*
Sunday March 23
- 2.40 hours: F1 Academy of Race 2
- 5.30am: Chinese GP Building-up: Grand Prix Sunday*
- 7:00: Grand Prix Chinese*
- 9:00: Chinese GP reaction: Plated flag*
- 10:00: Ted’s notebook*
*Also at the main event Sky Sports
Formula 1 is in Shanghai this week for the first sprint weekend of the season in Chinese GP, live on Sky Sports F1. Stream Sky Sports with now – No Treaty, cancel anytime
