4926 replies to this topic

[Lowgrip]

You just have to look at yesterday race to see the overtakes Hamilton made were the one Russell was making at Mercedes while poor Lewis would be stuck behind some car. He is way more racier than I can remember him at Mercedes.

Speed is still missing/not consistent but I thought he was the fastest driver during his 2nd stint?

Edited by Lowgrip, Yesterday, 07:41.

[Taxi]

It's very hard for Lewis to beat a prime Leclerc. He's 40 and lets not kid ourselves, drivers lose speed. Don't be fooled by Alonso being great when in fact at 40 was only matching (slighlty beating) Ocon and now has Stroll as a team mate.  Leclerc is another level. 

 

That being said Lewis will be there all the time scoring points even when the car is not good or when he performs bad (by his standars). He's only a few points behind Charles inspite being beated in all 4 races (aside the sprint in china).  Let him do his thing. 

[lewislorenzo]

I will give him time.

Doesn’t seem like it

[Ruudbackus]

You just have to look at yesterday race to see the overtakes Hamilton made were the one Russell was making at Mercedes while poor Lewis would be stuck behind some car. He is way more racier than I can remember him at Mercedes.

Speed is still missing/not consistent but I thought he was the fastest driver during his 2nd stint?

He didn't need to race really much at mercedes of course. Except for 21 and he was racy then too. But i loved his overtakes yesterday. Thats the Hamilton I want to see! He was indeed fastest in that second stint in the phase before the safteycar. He faded on the hards though.But what could he have achieveed by pushing there? Norris was always going to be quicker and Gasly/Verstappen behind weren't a real threat. 

 

Can he beat Leclerc, not this season (maybe at an occasional race but in general i don't think so). Leclerc is in his prime and a good, maybe the best qualifier. And from the season so far i feel qualification is very important. There are not many tracks that allow for overtakes without drs and following in dirty air is an issue with these cars. 

[Lowgrip]

He didn't need to race really much at mercedes of course. Except for 21 and he was racy then too. But i loved his overtakes yesterday. Thats the Hamilton I want to see! He was indeed fastest in that second stint in the phase before the safteycar. He faded on the hards though.But what could he have achieveed by pushing there? Norris was always going to be quicker and Gasly/Verstappen behind weren't a real threat. 

 

Can he beat Leclerc, not this season (maybe at an occasional race but in general i don't think so). Leclerc is in his prime and a good, maybe the best qualifier. And from the season so far i feel qualification is very important. There are not many tracks that allow for overtakes without drs and following in dirty air is an issue with these cars. 

He had to race in some occasions and even then he was almost always picking the outside to overtake (look at his fights agains Vettel/Rosberg/Verstappen) when the inside line while riskier would have been "better".

Even his starts at Ferrari are more robust and less cautious than what we saw at Mercedes.
Is it the Leclerc's effect or his need to do well and prove the critics wrong?
 

[gpking]

Leclerc expecting the car to be better in Jeddah makes me wonder if they might be able to lower the ride height.

[lewislorenzo]

He didn't need to race really much at mercedes of course.

That isn’t true

[tigerkimi]

Leclerc expecting the car to be better in Jeddah makes me wonder if they might be able to lower the ride height.

 

New low drag wing perhaps .

Also softer tyres 

Edited by tigerkimi, Yesterday, 09:41.

[gillesfan76]

I'm not so sure. It seems like the Ferrari is really a bit of a different beast, and after the race, Lewis said three interesting things (paraphrase):

 

1) He has to stop being set in his ways and trying to be comfortable by retaining the driving style he is used to; instead, he needs to drive the car as it likes to be driven.

2) The Ferrari really drives in a different way. He used the example of engine braking being necessary.

3) He seems to have gained a greater understanding of the car and has a better idea of how to improve (hopefully not just blind optimism).

 

So maybe he will turn the corner in the upcoming races.

 

I think Mercedes in the last few years was a different issue. His qualifying sucked for well-documented reasons, and truly George is really a top qualifier. But Lewis more often than not had the legs of George on race pace. It's different from Charles in that their race pace is more often than not pretty close, and when it's not, Charles is faster. Lewis might have lost some top speed, but with the preparation and focus that he came into this year with, I doubt he has lost his racing speed out of the blue.

 

I found Lewis’ recent quotes interesting, but I don’t really understand his often comparisons with the Mercedes. I can only surmise that he’s talking about the pre-ground effect Mercedes, because he was struggling in general from 2022 onwards. 2023 was an exception where he consistently outperformed George, but 2022 and 2024 were poor.

 

So I don’t quite get him referring to how he has to unlearn the Mercedes. Because his previous driving style wasn’t working with the Mercedes either for 3 years.

[Autodromo]

I found Lewis’ recent quotes interesting, but I don’t really understand his often comparisons with the Mercedes. I can only surmise that he’s talking about the pre-ground effect Mercedes, because he was struggling in general from 2022 onwards. 2023 was an exception where he consistently outperformed George, but 2022 and 2024 were poor.

 

So I don’t quite get him referring to how he has to unlearn the Mercedes. Because his previous driving style wasn’t working with the Mercedes either for 3 years.

I don't think he was talking mostly about how to steer it, but how to manage the balance of the systems.  He specifically called out that the Ferrari uses significant engine braking that Mercedes did not do, and the switch from Brembo to CI brakes.  

[vlado]

Still struggling with low fuel

New low drag wing perhaps .
Also softer tyres

That track is smooth and it doesn’t require high downforce so McLaren advantage should be somewhat negated and maybe the SF25 can run as low as intended.

[lewislorenzo]

Still struggling with low fuel





That track is smooth and it doesn’t require high downforce so McLaren advantage should be somewhat negated and maybe the SF25 can run as low as intended.

McLaren was on mediums so not a valid comparison for the last stint

Edited by lewislorenzo, Yesterday, 14:46.

[vlado]

McLaren was on mediums so not a valid comparison for the last stint

The point being that he got slower as the car got lighter

[nemanja]

Leclerc expecting the car to be better in Jeddah makes me wonder if they might be able to lower the ride height.

Yes.

Track is smooth as it can be.

[Ferrari2183]

The point being that he got slower as the car got lighter

You can’t conclude that from the graph. He was having to defend from Norris for a large part of that stint too.

[vlado]

You can’t conclude that from the graph. He was having to defend from Norris for a large part of that stint too.

 

I'm sure we will get a chance this theory on multiple occasions in the coming months so we will see. The car has seemingly struggled in the last few races during the last stint, but it could be unrelated. 

[nemanja]

https://www.funoanal...rain-2025/.html

 

Shifting attention to the final phase of the F1 race, with lighter cars, we can see how Max's position in the middle of the group once again favored top speed. The most interesting data comes from the comparison between the two Ferraris and Piastri. With Hard tires, the Maranello cars found the greatest difficulties in the final phase of the race. From the graph, we can understand how the main problem was the rear end on exit.

Rear unable to guarantee enough grip to stabilize the car. This poor balance was dictated by a front end that was very imprecise in entering, which triggered excessive sliding on exit. For this reason, the most critical areas — where Piastri gained the most ground — were the exits from the slowest corners.

[garoidb]

Right now he's got nowhere to go that's better than Ferrari assuming that Max goes to Merc. But Aston Martin might be an option if Newey turns it round. And it might be the obvious choice. Max goes to Aston Martin then Toto may go for Charles. Maybe though. But he's not guaranteed a better seat. 

 

I have my doubts now about both Aston Martin and Red Bull for the next few years. Both are gambles at best. It means the number of desirable teams has reduced again. The teams to aim to drive now for are McLaren, Mercedes and Ferrari (and ideally pick the right one for the 2026 regulations). Ferrari is as good a bet as anything else in my opinion.

Edited by garoidb, Yesterday, 16:11.

[George Costanza]

It's very hard for Lewis to beat a prime Leclerc. He's 40 and lets not kid ourselves, drivers lose speed. Don't be fooled by Alonso being great when in fact at 40 was only matching (slighlty beating) Ocon and now has Stroll as a team mate. Leclerc is another level.

That being said Lewis will be there all the time scoring points even when the car is not good or when he performs bad (by his standars). He's only a few points behind Charles inspite being beated in all 4 races (aside the sprint in china). Let him do his thing.

Drivers don't really lose speed. Look at Juan Manuel Fangio.
They just get tired quickly.

[MikeTekRacing]

Drivers don't really lose speed. Look at Juan Manuel Fangio.
They just get tired quickly.

F1 back then was an amateur group sports wise compared to the sport now (fitness, preparation etc).

The level of the field is in a different league today with teenagers making it up to F1.

 

Can't compare those times to today.

Of course they lose speed . 

[vlado]

Ferrari is as good a bet as anything else in my opinion.

Keep in mind that the 2026 car will be designed by the same technical team responsible for the current car, so confidence in the 2026 project should be kept an absolute minimum.

[hollowstar]

Keep in mind that the 2026 car will be designed by the same technical team responsible for the current car, so confidence in the 2026 project should be kept an absolute minimum.

Did Serra have an impact on the current car? I don't fully remember at what point he joined the team.

[vlado]

https://www.formulap...-tutte-le-curve

 

Hamilton still excels in driving technique, but does not find the limit. The ground clearance seems to be a factor as it was in Mercedes . Leclerc has perhaps been forged by the hard years. 

 

 

Yes, I think HAM will be fine as he gets used to the car during the season. 

 

LEC being "forged" by hard years? 100%.

 

Look at the fit VER is throwing now while being in the same situation LEC has been for years. 

 

 

https://t.co/uVmlQkmXOm

 

Frédéric Vasseur:

 

"If you look at the season average, I think we're missing 2, 3 or 4 tenths. We're missing something. We have to keep working. The aerodynamic load is part of that gap. We have to calm down. We have ups and downs, like everyone else. The problem is that for us, the ups are higher and the downs are just as high. If we want to stay consistent, as we've done very well in the last two years, we have to stay calm and improve little by little. However, I'm convinced we'll do the same good job as in the last two years."

 

 

What ups? I've missed something. 

 

Same good job = "2nd force" at best 

 

We'll work to adapt the car to him, but he also needs to take a step forward.

 

 

This makes sense, just don't make the car slower in the process. 

 

 

Charles Leclerc:

“We need more: more grip, more downforce.”

 

“I think at the moment, balance-wise, we are getting the most out of the car, but there is nothing else.”

 

“I just need more grip to go faster in the corners.”

 

 

Yes. 

 

[Autodromo]

 

https://www.formulap...-tutte-le-curve

 

 

Yes, I think HAM will be fine as he gets used to the car during the season. 

 

LEC being "forged" by hard years? 100%.

 

Look at the fit VER is throwing now while being in the same situation LEC has been for years. 

 

 

https://t.co/uVmlQkmXOm

 

Frédéric Vasseur:

 

 

What ups? I've missed something. 

 

Same good job = "2nd force" at best 

 

 

This makes sense, just don't make the car slower in the process. 

 

 

Charles Leclerc:

 

Yes. 

 

Everyone wants more grip as well as top speed.  Welcome to F1, Charles.

[Raest]

Did Serra have an impact on the current car? I don't fully remember at what point he joined the team.

He did not. He joined in October as far as i can remember. The design had been finalised

[perky]

Right. What Leclerc highlights, and what is valid information, ist that the car is well balanced but lacking owverall downforce. In contrast to having lots of downforce but unbalanced or inconsistent. Those are two different sets of problems.

[GLessard]

Last year, Sainz was ahead of Leclerc in qualy and race in Japan. In Bahrain he was 1/10th behind Leclerc in qualy ahead in the race result. In Saudi Arabian, Bearman was at 530/1000th in qualy.

Lewis needs to be closer than 500/1000th behind Leclerc next week end. I would not be surprised if he is ahead of Leclerc.