Lewis Hamilton says this yr’s Ferrari is probably the most tough automotive he’s ever pushed within the moist at Silverstone, after ending fourth within the British Grand Prix.
Ferrari’s hopes had been excessive going into qualifying on Saturday after spectacular tempo within the dry on each high and low gas, however Q3 finally led to disappointment with Hamilton fifth and teammate Charles Leclerc sixth. Moist climate supplied a chance to make fast progress however Hamilton pale after placing early strain on eventual winner Lando Norris, and was unable to shut the hole to Nico Hulkenberg late on.
“Troublesome day I feel for everyone,” Hamilton stated. “Not the end result that I hoped for, however received some factors nonetheless … It was probably the most tough automotive I’ve pushed right here in these circumstances.
“I used to be placing [Norris] beneath a whole lot of strain. I had an opportunity on Lando into Flip 15. After that I simply struggled to maintain up, the tires dropped off massively. The automotive was unbelievably difficult to drive.
“I feel, finally, I discovered quite a bit, there’s heaps to take from the day. It is solely my second time driving within the moist on this automotive. I can not even categorical to you ways onerous it’s. It is not a automotive that likes these circumstances.
“However having plenty of information to take from this, for me it is to take a seat down with the individuals which are designing the automotive for subsequent yr, as a result of there’s parts of this automotive that may go into the next yr.”
Ferrari group principal Fred Vasseur admits the group didn’t make the right calls with its technique both, though he factors on the market had been different elements that made decision-making a problem.
“You possibly can say now that it was most likely one lap too early [to fit slicks], as a result of he went straight in Flip 3 and 4 and he misplaced 4 or 5 seconds in these two corners,” Vasseur stated. “However [Fernando] Alonso pitted earlier than and he was already sooner in some corners than all the blokes on intermediates.
“It’s the type of scenario that should you wait the others do it earlier than you and it’s at all times too late and I feel it’s fairly simple to say after the race ‘first pit cease would have been higher one lap earlier than, second pit cease one lap later’.
“However truthfully on this, when you need to take the choice on the pit wall it’s at all times a tough one since you at all times need to anticipate. And on high of that we misplaced the GPS of Lewis for the entire race and that meant we had been fully blind and we didn’t know the place the automotive was. It was a tough one.”
