Ferrari and that “setup direction I won’t follow anymore”: Lewis Hamilton turns the…read more
Lewis Hamilton is ready to move on from the disappointing Chinese Grand Prix and shift his focus to the upcoming race in Suzuka. The British driver had a tough weekend in Shanghai, where Ferrari’s SF-25 failed to shine. Both Hamilton and teammate Charles Leclerc finished in the same positions they started, with Hamilton placing sixth and Leclerc fifth, highlighting the lack of progress for Ferrari despite the team’s efforts.
Ferrari’s performance in China was largely uninspiring, with the highlight being their dominance during the Sprint phase. Hamilton, who was the star in the short Sprint race, had hoped the momentum would carry into the main event, but it was not to be. Despite making changes to the car setup before qualifying on Saturday, Ferrari couldn’t find the consistency they were looking for, and their race pace remained slow. McLaren, on the other hand, delivered an impressive performance, with Oscar Piastri and Lando Norris securing a double podium finish after recovering from a challenging Sprint race.
Hamilton spoke candidly about the struggles Ferrari faced during the Chinese Grand Prix. He admitted that he was slower than his teammate, Leclerc, who was driving with a damaged front wing. Leclerc’s car had a deficit of about 20-30 points in downforce, as confirmed by the team’s engineer, but even with the damage, Leclerc outpaced Hamilton. Reflecting on the weekend, Hamilton noted that the setup changes made ahead of the race didn’t improve the car’s performance. “We didn’t go in the right direction; the race probably went worse than qualifying,” he shared in an interview with French broadcaster Canal+.
While Hamilton wasn’t disappointed with the team’s strategy, he acknowledged that the adjustments made to the car didn’t pay off. “The car was good in the Sprint, but the changes we made to improve it didn’t work out. Overall, the car got much worse,” he explained. He also mentioned that some setup adjustments, including changes to the height of the car, weren’t effective. Hamilton revealed that while he and Leclerc had both experimented with setups, including some changes Leclerc tested in Bahrain, the direction they tried in China was not beneficial, and he would not continue down that path.
Despite the frustrating outcome, Hamilton remains optimistic and focused on the future. He encouraged his team over the radio after the race, saying, “Guys, I know it’s been tough. It wasn’t the result we were hoping for, but we keep working. We can definitely improve. We won’t give up.” Ferrari is now looking ahead to the Japanese Grand Prix at Suzuka, and Hamilton is eager to put the disappointment of China behind him and help push the team forward, aiming to improve the SF-25’s performance in the upcoming races.
