Lewis Hamilton suspicions confirmed as next Ferrari steps become clear | F1 | Sport
Lewis Hamilton has not used a simulator ahead of Sunday’s Monaco Grand Prix – and declared he will “probably not” use the tool to prepare for a Formula 1 race again. His declaration comes after a successful experiment last time out in Montreal, where he secured his best result yet since joining Ferrari.
The seven-time world champion declared after the previous race weekend in Miami, which was a largely disappointing one for him, his belief that the simulator was leading him down the wrong path when it came to setting up his car for a real-life event. So he did not use it at all in advance of the Canadian Grand Prix.
In Montreal, Hamilton quickly found a set-up that worked while his team-mate Charles Leclerc struggled for grip and confidence in the other Ferrari. Hamilton built on that and ended up finishing the Grand Prix second, his best result yet in a full-length F1 race since swapping Mercedes for the Scuderia.
And while he admits that the high-tech Ferrari simulator will still have its uses, the 41-year-old has decided to permanently exclude it from his own pre-race weekend preparations. “I’m sure I will drive it at some point. I think what could be good is, for example, going back and doing correlation to this weekend so we can find out where it’s missing,” Hamilton said.
“The test driver will be on there saying it’s all… they will only know what they know because they don’t get to drive – it’s only Charles and I that get to drive the car. So the positive of something like being able to drive the real car, go back and say, ‘This is actually what it feels like, these are the things that we’re missing’, so that we can improve it. I’m always there to help the team move forward and develop it.
“Now whether or not I use it to prepare for another race? Probably not. There are just too many risks. If you look at the two best races I’ve had, I didn’t use a simulator and that’s honestly how it was. Pretty much all the championships before, except for probably 2008, I didn’t use the sim, so it’s not a necessity. It’s a tool that can be powerful but, for me, I’m old school. I’m probably better without it.”
Hamilton will smell a chance to maybe get his maiden Grand Prix victory for Ferrari in Monaco this weekend. Many pre-event predictions have suggested the Scuderia will be especially strong around the roads of Monte Carlo and, while Leclerc has the advantage of having grown up on those same streets, Hamilton has won here three times before and also lives in the Principality.
Ferrari dominated practice on Friday, with Leclerc leading the pack in FP1 before Hamilton leapfrogged his team-mate to end the day at the top of the timesheets after the second hour of running. But Mercedes reminded everyone of their power in the final practice session on Saturday, which ended with championship leader Kimi Antonelli more than three-tenths of a second quicker than anyone else.
