F1 NEWS:Lewis Hamilton; Ferrari Setup Adjustments Made Car “Even…read more
F1 NEWS:Lewis Hamilton; Ferrari Setup Adjustments Made Car “Even…read more
Lewis Hamilton has acknowledged that setup changes made to his Ferrari ahead of the Formula 1 Chinese Grand Prix ultimately worsened the car’s performance.
Hamilton finished sixth on track at the Shanghai International Circuit, but his weekend took a further hit when he was later disqualified due to excessive plank wear.
It was a frustrating end for the seven-time world champion, especially after he dominated the sprint race from pole position. During the main event, Hamilton had to let his teammate, Charles Leclerc, pass due to a lack of pace. Later, he also lost a position to Max Verstappen after switching to a two-stop strategy.
However, Hamilton’s final result was uncertain, as both he and Leclerc were under investigation for technical infringements.
After the race, before the stewards’ decisions were announced, Hamilton expressed that he had no regrets about trying a two-stop strategy. However, he was critical of the setup changes, which had an adverse effect.
“I’m glad we tried something different, but I was struggling with performance. The car was decent in the sprint, but we made some adjustments to improve it further. Unfortunately, those changes made it significantly worse for qualifying and even worse for the race,” Hamilton admitted.
“It was tough keeping up with the cars ahead. There’s a lot to learn. The pit stop here takes too long, so it’s difficult to recover. Even though I had fresher tires than Max at the end, I still couldn’t match his pace. It wasn’t ideal.”
Lewis Hamilton: “I Won’t Do That Again”
While Hamilton didn’t elaborate on the exact setup changes, he did reveal that both he and Leclerc opted for something Leclerc had tested during pre-season in Bahrain.
Hamilton was direct in his assessment, stating that the modifications made the car perform significantly worse.
“We made a few other minor changes as well, but collectively, everything made the car a lot worse,” Hamilton explained.
“Charles had tested something in Bahrain, which I hadn’t tried before, but we both went with it for China. It turned out to be a bad decision. Now I know not to do that again.”
