Lewis Hamilton has endured a stuttering season at Mercedes where he has struggled to match his teammate George Russell on some weekends.
The seven-time world champion is leaving the German team at the end of the year to join Ferrari, putting an end to a successful partnership that began in 2013.
Hamilton has lacked raw speed in qualifying and has consistently been out-qualified by Russell, in contrast to earlier in his career when he was blisteringly fast over a single lap.
The British driver suffered during the Sao Paulo Grand Prix weekend, slumping to 10th place at the end of the race.
He got knocked out in Q1 after lacking confidence and struggled when battling Franco Colapinto, being passed by the Argentinian at the Senna S.
Peter Windsor explained on his YouTube channel that one thing Hamilton did in Brazil also compounded the Mercedes driver’s issues at Interlagos.
Peter Windsor spotted Lewis Hamilton ‘shadow boxing’ on the steering wheel in Brazil
The Sao Paulo Grand Prix was affected by rain from Saturday afternoon through Sunday, with qualifying also having to be shifted to race day.
Hamilton has performed admirably in the rain over his career, including notably winning the British Grand Prix in 2008 by over a minute.
Confidence is essential in the rain to feel where the grip as the track evolves each lap with different conditions and drying lines if the circuit improves.
Hamilton has lacked feel at times ever since the ground effect regulations were introduced in 2022. Bouncing also made a return in Brazil as Mercedes struggled to adapt to the track’s new, bumpy surface.
Windsor explained that Hamilton doesn’t drive in that way very often and he was very tentative on the steering wheel.
He said: “I think if there’s a set-up there that they think will work with Lewis and George has run it, they’ll give it to Lewis. So he’s not afraid to do that.
“As I said, what you’re seeing is a guy who on that day in Brazil was so lacking in feel with the car that he was just shadow boxing on the steering. And that was making things worse, in my opinion. Don’t very often see that with Lewis. Very rarely. But he just wasn’t enjoying himself.”
James Allen feels Mercedes have been doing something ‘unusual’ this season
Hamilton’s move to Ferrari for 2025 was announced in January, and Mercedes immediately began searching for his replacement.
James Allen feels it is odd that Hamilton hasn’t been receiving upgrades when Russell has as Mercedes have tried to develop and get back to the front.
As Hamilton is leaving the team, it is likely that the 39-year-old will have less input into upgrades going on the car and the direction the team want to go in.
The British driver has three more races with the team and will be hoping to end on a high before joining Ferrari and partnering Charles Leclerc.
Related Posts
