Lewis Hamilton comments on his difficulties with the current generation of cars and admits: Weaknesses during changeover and over a lap
Lewis Hamilton and the ground-effect cars: Mercedes chief engineer Andrew Shovlin recently revealed in Hungary that this is not necessarily a love affair, as he admitted that the record world champion is having difficulties with the transition to the current generation of cars
When asked about this ahead of the Formula 1 race in Spa, Hamilton himself makes no secret of the fact that the old regulations suited him and his driving style better: “I’m a Capricorn, so I’m pretty stubborn,” says Hamilton with a grin, venturing a dig at the zodiac signs.
“So I keep trying to drive the way I want to drive – and then I realize that doesn’t always work. Then I try to maneuver my way through it somehow, but it still hasn’t worked out so well so far,” the Brit gives an honest insight into his preferences behind the wheel.
“I think ultimately you have to be able to adapt as a driver and also admit that your approach to some things might not be perfect. Then you have to start finding ways to hold on to the essence of what made you as good as you were,” explains the Mercedes star.
“And then you have to see how you can develop that to achieve what you want to achieve,” says Hamilton, who believes: “The bottom line is that we racing drivers have to be able to drive everything. And I think we can do that. It’s just that some drivers are better at dealing with things in certain situations than others.”
“Some people need less time to adapt, others need more time,” explains Hamilton, who obviously falls into the second category when it comes to ground effect cars. Nevertheless, looking at his performance, he says: “I wouldn’t say it’s a disaster. It’s still above average, but maybe not like an expert on a qualifying lap.”
Shovlin had already branded the record-breaking champion’s difficulties over a fast lap in qualifying as Hamilton’s current weak point – which this season is also expressed numerically in a clear score of 3:10 in the internal qualifying duel against team-mate George Russell.
