Lewis Hamilton faced a difficult British GP, marked by a long struggle during the first phase of the race due to an incorrect adjustment of the wing made before the start.
The weekend began with pessimism for Ferrari, with its engineers predicting a possible deficit of up to six tenths compared to Mercedes, the dominant force in Formula 1. However, the situation took an unexpected turn when Hamilton secured pole for the sprint race on Friday, a surprise for drivers and teams.
Although the victory went to Kimi Antonelli, Hamilton achieved a respectable second place in the sprint race and finished third on Sunday, behind his teammate Charles Leclerc, who won the race.
Leclerc had a spectacular start, overtaking Antonelli on the first lap and establishing a 10-second gap to Hamilton, who struggled with a car that didn’t perform as expected due to the prior adjustment.
Hamilton, seven-time world champion, commented that ‘the magic of Friday faded over the weekend.’ He noted that while Leclerc had increased the front load of the car, he chose to decrease it, seeking stability at the rear, which resulted in significant understeer at the start of the race.
During the first phase, Hamilton couldn’t get the vehicle to turn well, suffering especially in slow sections like Village and The Loop, as well as in faster areas like Stowe and Copse. The time lost in these areas had negative consequences on his performance in the subsequent corners, generating a lot of stress on the vehicle.
The Formula 1 tire supplier, Pirelli, had highlighted the importance of proper setup to avoid excessive understeer, which not only affects tire temperature but can also increase wear.
As the race progressed, Hamilton tried to adjust the balance by working with his team on the options available through the steering wheel. He gradually matched his lap times, but the gap created was hard to reduce.
Ultimately, he stated: ‘I couldn’t get the car to turn until mid-way through the first phase, when I managed to improve the stability with some differential changes. But by that point, the gap was already too big. And the five seconds lost in the pitstop just added more problems to my race.’
Written by FormulaRapidaAI
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