Why Lewis Hamilton's driving style will not be a limitation in 2025
01/04/2025 11:35 AM
Lewis Hamilton is washed up: a phrase we unfortunately heard too often during the 2024 Formula 1 championship. Scuderia Ferrari welcomes him after having heard this “sporting malice” on several occasions. This perception is based solely on results compared to his Mercedes teammate George Russell, who often and willingly was ahead of the seven-time Formula 1 world champion in the last season. First, we must make a necessary clarification. Even in the most important motorsport series, just like in life, when motivation wanes, performance naturally declines. This is physiological because the mental aspect is too important and it is something we also remember very well from Sebastian Vettel‘s last year with Ferrari, when the German driver was already aware that he would not continue with the Maranello team and his performance in 2020 was significantly inferior as compared to his Ferrari teammate.
Racing for a team in a divided environment is one of the most challenging situations a Formula 1 driver can face. And even Lewis Hamilton suffered from this scenario, although his vast experience kept it from becoming too burdensome. Moreover, the team's focus was rightly and undoubtedly entirely on George Russell, the heir to Lewis Hamilton’s status as leading driver. This means the German team followed George Russell’s feedback regarding development direction. The Mercedes W15 single-seater was a good car but certainly not top-tier, as many flaws and inconsistent performance had to be managed by the team led by Toto Wolff.
One of the critical points was the rear end. From the very first phases of 2024, referring to pre-season testing session at the Bahrain International circuit, it became clear that the new pull-rod rear suspension setup was challenging to calibrate. It took several months to understand how to fully exploit this new configuration. Overheating was always lurking, and managing the tires proved very difficult. Then, slowly and progressively, the vehicle dynamics team found the keys to better manage the rear of Brackley's car.
Various floor updates provided more downforce and stability, and in the summer, the W15 performed its best when temperatures were lower than expected. This characteristic was maximized by the team in the second half of the 2024 Formula 1 championship, leveraging this key tire management aspect to achieve results beyond the car’s actual competitiveness. Lewis Hamilton gave his best whenever the car allowed him to. However, in general, whether it was cold or hot, he always struggled more than necessary in qualifying on single-lap pace.
Explaining why performance falls short of expectations is often not simple. In Mercedes’ case, it is perhaps even more complex. Consider that even the drivers, on several occasions, as well as technicians and engineers, were unable to provide plausible explanations for the results achieved, whether they were exceptional, subpar, or disappointing, if we can put it that way. We know that every F1 driver knows their own characteristics very well and, as is right, seeks a setup that can enhance them. This happens in all teams.
By closely following Ferrari, for example, we were able to observe the differences between the Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz. Factors that, in certain circumstances, favored one driver over the other. For instance, think of the Mexican Grand Prix, a race weekend where the Monegasque driver suffered too much in the second sector. While it is true that the fast, sequential corners did not suit the SF-24 car and even Carlos Sainz knew that, precisely for this reason, the Spaniard was very good at taming the car in this section of the track, using his driving style on entry to minimize the limits of the red car. No wonder he won that Grand Prix.
But let's get back to Lewis Hamilton. The British driver is a great winner, but like all champions, he is a perfectionist behind the wheel, just like Max Verstappen, who, during free practice on any given Formula 1 race weekend, goes all out to find the setup of the car best suited to his distinctive traits when he tightens the steering wheel. The British driver showed a lot of difficulty in braking. We have seen this since his early experiences with McLaren: the Brit used the brakes in a particular way. The seven-time Formula 1 world champion, despite micro-lockups at the front end, was always competitive.
We are talking about an aspect of his braking style that, in 2024, penalized him significantly in relation to the W15's qualities. This aspect took away his rhythm on single-lap pace. Another important issue came from the lack of rotation, which Lewis Hamilton doesn't particularly like. On the contrary, he suffers from it a lot. The setup window was often reduced, and the two Mercedes drivers could only adapt. George Russell did this much better, as his driving style was more suited to the car's characteristics. Thinking of the future with Lewis Hamilton at Ferrari, could this factor weigh in?
The question is not easily resolved. However, we can say that at Maranello, the motivations will be very different, and the car that will come from the 2025 project will, as a fundamental characteristic, maintain a certain tendency to oversteer, a feature that the British champion likes and can manage with no issues. Moreover, the new innovative floor, based on the experimental one introduced in Las Vegas, aims to widen the operational window of the car to give drivers all the tools needed to gain confidence with the car. So, no alarms for Lewis Hamilton ahead of the next Formula 1 world championship.
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