The seven-time world champion, Lewis Hamilton, has expressed his opinion on the differences in approach that Formula 1 drivers have towards racing in wet conditions. According to him, younger drivers are becoming “increasingly cautious” when it comes to competing on a wet track.
Recently, the Malaysian Grand Prix witnessed this phenomenon, with rains that forced a 40-minute delay to the start of the race. During this day, cars had to swap their wet tires for intermediates, resulting in software malfunctions in some vehicles.
Hamilton commented that current wet races are not comparable to those of the past. “I have had great races in the rain, like the one in 2008; back then, there were more tests and better rain tires, thanks to the collaboration with Bridgestone,” the driver recalled.
The British driver draws attention to the current mentality of young drivers, who seem to follow different advice than his more experienced generation. “We, the old guard drivers, want to compete. The younger ones seem to say they do not want to race under extreme conditions,” Hamilton emphasized.
Spanish driver Carlos Sainz defended the race director’s decision regarding the timing of when to give the green light to start the competition. “I believe the decision was appropriate given the weather conditions. Everyone agrees that at that moment it was raining too much to race,” Sainz stated.
On the other hand, French driver Isack Hadjar commented that the new power units make vehicle control more complicated in rainy conditions. “With current technology, you don’t know when the power will kick in, and the intermediate tires do not tolerate accumulated water,” he pointed out.
Rainy races will continue to be a topic of debate, especially with upcoming visits to circuits where weather conditions could complicate matters, such as the Singapore Grand Prix.
Written by FormulaRapidaAI
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