Lewis Hamilton is looking for something that may not be there. Photo: Getty Images/Edmund So
During his run to ninth place in Sunday's Chinese Grand Prix, Lewis Hamilton complained that his Mercedes felt «broken.» It was another disappointing and confusing weekend for the seven-time champion, who is yet to beat George Russell in a race this season. Again, he attributed his problems to an «aggressive» stance that was different from his teammate's.
If I were Toto Wolff, the first question I would have asked on Monday morning would have been why we made such a decision to change Hamilton's setup before the race. Hamilton finished second in the sprint race on Saturday. Yes, he was 13 seconds behind the winner after 19 laps, but it was by far his best result in any meaningful session in 2024. Why reconsider this setting rather than just tweak it?
It was a strange decision and Hamilton threw his hands up. “I won’t change any more settings, Bono,” he told his race engineer after the checkered flag. However, it characterizes Hamilton's approach to the problematic Mercedes cars of the current era of screen effect — certainly in contrast to Russell.
First, we have to believe what Hamilton says about his scheme. However, when you consider that these rules were introduced almost 50 races ago, the fact that Mercedes are still conducting such «experiments» shows that they have lost. Mercedes, with their track record and resources, should be fighting for podiums at worst. You can understand that teams like Sauber or Williams are taking a shot in the dark with their settings, but Mercedes need to optimize what they have.
Mercedes had deep problems with the car after the latest rule changes. Photo: Getty Images/Mark Thompson
This means taking the car into the tuning window and changing the balance of the car: perhaps a five percent deviation in stiffness. front or rear or a millimeter or so in ride height. The aerodynamic balance between the front and rear wings also shifts. In other words, optimizing what you have, but not making radical changes.
Optimizing the W15 is what Russell's approach appears to be. He qualified eighth and finished sixth in Shanghai, which is a good result. Mercedes is the fourth fastest car, and Russell was only beaten by two Red Bulls, two Ferraris and one McLaren. He showed what the car can do, they are here, and Hamilton and the team must accept it.
Hamilton still seems to be searching for that magic bullet that will allow him to suddenly take the lead. Well, in all my years in motorsport I have never seen anything like this. Mercedes has had a fundamental problem with the car since the start of 2022, and no amount of tweaking will fix it. You should always optimize what you have at your disposal. If you can do this, it gives you a framework to work from. At some point the excuses have to stop.
Hamilton's decision-making process has to be questioned. He took responsibility for the decision, but one would expect that any radical changes to the setup would be made in consultation with the wider group. This includes key engineers, perhaps even including Wolf, especially if there is an element of risk involved.
However, when Hamilton talks about these unusual attitudes, they are probably not as wild as he himself is. I wish we would believe it. They don't remove the engine from the back and put it in the front, so to speak.
What you can actually change with these ekranoplanes is actually quite minor — ground clearance, spring rates and the aerodynamic balance of the front and rear wing. The most important thing is to generate downforce under the floor. The fundamentals of the car won't change if you change the settings, but they can be damaged very easily, which is probably what happened in China with Hamilton, who complained of terrible balance.
"Lewis must have a crystal ball" 🔮
Karun and Damon discuss Mercedes' ongoing struggles after mixed weekend in China 👇 pic.twitter.com/PLjywZA0fF
— Sky Sports F1 (@SkySportsF1) April 21, 2024
Perhaps there's something about Hamilton that haunts the few times Mercedes has found its sweet spot over the past few years. It happened from time to time — two poles and one win since the end of 2021 — but it was fleeting. Mercedes is generally inconsistent. All of this is probably throwing him off course, and Hamilton seems unwilling to accept reality.
There is a side effect that also hinders the car's long-term development. If you make strange choices when tuning, the team will fail to find a baseline of performance and tuning. This limits learning about the car. If this is not the case, then the path of development, understanding what to work on in the wind tunnel and improving aerodynamic performance will also be confused. This leaves the team without a positive direction.
It remains a constant headache for Hamilton, but at least he has an end date for when he will move to Ferrari. At the same time, if he doesn't want to end the year as the second best Mercedes driver, he should learn from Russell and just take the best of what he has to work with.
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