Lewis Hamilton – Ferrari: that difficulty to overcome which doesn't depend on adapting to new team

Yesterday at 02:31 PM

Lewis Hamilton is ready to face the Ferrari challenge. The British driver will need to adapt to the new reality, but above all, when competing with Charles Leclerc, he will need to find that balance which he has not fully achieved so far when handling Venturi effect cars.

Recently, there has been a lot of talk about Lewis Hamilton at Ferrari. This is a normal, expected dynamic that is somewhat irritating the "journalistic police," ready to fine anyone who, in their view, is overusing a story that would overshadow the greatness of Charles Leclerc. Nonsense. The talk about the seven-time Formula 1 world champion exists primarily for one reason: both he and Ferrari, although not massively, have still provided the opportunity to share small bits of news, such as changes in employment status or the announcement that the partnership had officially begun.

Additionally, both parties have used their social media to share further details, even in a lighthearted manner, effectively starting the approach to the moment when the seven-time world champion will officially wear the red of Ferrari.

On the other hand, regarding Charles Leclerc (and let it be clear that this is not about starting a ridiculous battle between factions), there is nothing to report, other than the fact that the Monegasque driver is walking his dog on the streets of Monte Carlo. Well, there's no ground to consider this news as something interesting enough to base evaluations or, why not, conjectures on during a period when engines are idle.

Having made this necessary introduction, which will probably further annoy those with whistles in their mouths, paddles in hand, and fine books ready to be filled out, let's get to the point and talk once again about him, Sir Lewis Hamilton.

The Briton has just turned forty a few days ago and has embarked on a new professional experience. Change is never easy, especially when it comes after a very long career, and as age advances. Lewis is clearly in the final stages of his career, and credit must be given to him for challenging himself by leaving a top team to join another whose prestige is heavy, and in which it is never simple to operate, given the not-so-peaceful surrounding environment. The criticisms mentioned earlier only serve to show how the press, especially the Italian one, seems to spend more time accusing each other rather than informing. That is what we are trying to do as we go our own way.

Every transition requires adaptation. Lewis Hamilton will have to understand the operational dynamics of the Maranello team, assimilate them quickly, and create the cohesion he had, for example, at Mercedes with his trusted Peter "Bono" Bonnington. In just a few days, Lewis Hamilton will have the chance to test the track with the Ferrari and work more closely with Riccardo Adami, the track engineer who supported Carlos Sainz and will now manage the races of the seven-time Formula 1 world champion.

In this case, we are talking about a normal adjustment to the new professional reality. There is another aspect that the British driver must address once and for all, and it has nothing to do with Ferrari or Mercedes, but with his driving style, which some say does not fully align with the characteristics of Venturi-effect cars.

The issue is debated and has been addressed several times in previous years: Lewis Hamilton has a very aggressive braking style, which doesn't match the characteristics of these cars, which more significantly vary their aerodynamic load levels depending on speed compared to the old generation cars. Above all, as speed changes, the cars tend to behave differently.

At lower speeds, the front end tends to not activate, so the load shifts mostly to the rear axle; conversely, when the speed increases, the front aerodynamic element behaves like another Venturi channel, creating a vertical force that grows exponentially with speed, generating an imbalance that tends to create oversteer, especially in high-speed corners. To summarize, the cars tend to be understeering at low speeds and oversteering at high speeds. This type of problem was overcome by McLaren by introducing a flexible front wing. Not all technical teams have managed to find this delicate balance, and even those who have still had to struggle with an innate tendency towards the behaviors described above. Lewis Hamilton, like other drivers, has encountered difficulties adapting to this situation and may not have fully overcome these issues.

Kevin Magnussen addressed this matter in a recent interview. The Danish driver has a style very similar to that of the British champion, and he spoke about him: “It's difficult because I can’t dive into the data and analyze it as such, but I can see trends. We have a sort of GPS data. I'm curious to take a look and see if I can find any similarities. It seems that drivers with this particular driving style, like us, struggle a bit more than others,” explained the former F1 driver, who will now race in the FIA World Endurance Championship with BMW.

“I think it’s clear that Lewis is struggling. He has been amazing in every car he's driven, even before Formula 1. He was fantastic. But these cars are very particular. And I think the tires, besides being very special from an aerodynamic and mechanical point of view, are also very strange.”

There is no counter-evidence to the Danish driver's observations, but his perspective is definitely interesting since it comes from someone who drove this type of car until just a few weeks ago and especially from someone who could observe Lewis Hamilton on track and evaluate the telemetry data that can be extracted with today’s computer systems. The adventure Lewis Hamilton is about to experience at Ferrari will therefore require him to adapt both to the new context and to overcome the difficulties that have emerged over the past three years, during which he struggled in his comparison with George Russell, who probably has a “rounder” driving style and certainly one that is more suited to this generation of cars.

The former Mercedes man must act quickly; he can’t afford to waste a season waiting for the regulatory overhaul in the 2026 Formula 1 campaign. All eyes are on the Briton, and losing the internal battle with Charles Leclerc immediately could be a major blow to his career. On the other hand, it must be said that, like Lewis Hamilton, the Monegasque is a driver who loves to brake deeply and enjoys having a sharp front end and a lighter rear to control.

From this point of view, Lewis Hamilton could benefit from having a teammate with whom to work on solving the same problems and develop a car that suits both of their styles.

Ferrari team principal Frederic Vasseur also considered this when he wanted to sign the former Mercedes driver: finally resolving this small issue where two drivers had different styles, offering different feedback, and steering development in two different directions. With Carlos Sainz's departure, the Maranello team will be able to rely on drivers with a similar style – though not identical – who can contribute to generating a single development path for the engineers. This could be an advantage for both Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc.

— see video above —

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