Hamilton was frustrated by the W15’s change of behaviour
Lewis Hamilton was left confused as the behaviour of his Formula 1 Mercedes W15 changed from FP3 to qualifying at Mexico City GP, leaving him sixth on the grid for Sunday’s race.
Having given his car to Kimi Antonelli for FP1 on Friday Hamilton noted after FP2 that he needed “more rear.”
He was happier with the car in FP3 and added a bigger wing in search of downforce, but then found himself losing performance in qualifying. He lines up on the grid behind team mate George Russell, who still has the old floor.
“P3 felt decent, it felt like we were on the right track,” said Hamilton when asked by this writer about his progress.
“So I decided not to make any changes. All we did is put the wing on, and I was like, let’s leave it there. There’s not really a lot we could do in setup changes to progress the car forwards. The performance is where it is.
“Then we got into qualifying, and I had no rear. It’s just like, it flips on its head. It’s a very strange thing with a car.
“We definitely took a good step in FP3 I thought, at least in balance. But we were still six-tenths off the cars ahead. We put the bigger wing on to try and get more downforce, and it just went slower.”
Hamilton acknowledged that the car getting worse from Friday to Saturday has been a regular theme: “The same as every single race I’ve had this year.”
He acknowledged that the W15 remains tricky to drive, as evidenced by George Russell’s crash on Friday.
“We have three-wheeling, and the ride height is moving 15mm, something like that, up and down. And when it does that, it shits the bed, basically!”
With Russell running the old spec floor Hamilton acknowledged that the team will gather some useful information in what is in effect a back-to-back test.
“I will be interesting for us to get a reading, because obviously I’m on the upgraded car, which should be quicker, but I don’t think it is.
“We’ll get lots of data tomorrow. I don’t think we’ll compete with the guys ahead, just too fast. Just see how it goes. I just want to go to the end of the race, at least this time.”
Drivers have been invited to discuss driving guidelines
Formula 1 driving guidelines will be one of the main topics set be be debated in a meeting about regulations scheduled for the Qatar GP weekend.
Drivers have been invited to join FIA representatives for a discussion on how things could be done better.
Qatar was chosen in essence because it’s a much quieter weekend with a more favourable schedule than the Las Vegas event that precedes it.
Such meetings are not unusual and have become a regular occurrence, but the ongoing debate over the penalties handed out in Austin last weekend has put a spotlight on the driving guidelines.
The matter was discussed at length in Friday’s driving briefing in Mexico, in what sources describe as cordial and constructive atmosphere.
The drivers generally agree that penalties have been consistent, but they still want more clarity.
It was also widely accepted that at present the guidelines favour the defending driver, and that is likely to be part of the future discussion.
The guidelines are acknowledged by the FIA to be a work-in-progress and thus are open to change.
There is also a discussion about having them added to the FIA’s International Sporting Code for 2025, which will put a premium on honing them in the coming weeks. They would be added to Appendix L, which covers driver conduct, and already has a section for “overtaking, car control and track limits.”
It was also pointed out in the meeting that the DRS zone in Austin had been cut by 95 metres. That and a generally smaller DRS effect across the field as teams find more downforce from floors made it that much harder for drivers to launch a pass into Turn 12, and in turn led to incidents.
The subject of gravel traps was also discussed, with many drivers keen to see the sort of solution seen in Austria. COTA is looking into it, although drainage issues at the venue mean digging pits for gravel it’s not an easy answer.
Carlos Sainz is one of many drivers who wants to see such changes.
“I think we can keep going about guidelines, but for me until circuits don’t give us also a hand, it will be very difficult to erase the problem,” the Ferrari driver said on Thursday.
“I think if you put a gravel trap at the exit of Turn 12, Lando doesn’t think about braking so late and releasing the brake and happy to overtake around the outside, because he would lose two seconds and get dirt on the tyres by going around the outside.
“And Max would think twice about braking so late, risking going in the gravel himself. So if you think about it, this solution might be solved by itself, by circuit standards or circuit modifications, and we keep going around in circles with the guidelines that might be easier to be solved with certain slight changes to a track which some tracks have already performed.”
Regarding Friday’s meeting an FIA spokesperson said: “There was a general commitment to continue to update the driving standards guidelines. Bearing in mind the drivers requested the drivers’ racing guidelines and agreed to their introduction along with the Grand Prix Drivers’ Association, each time they are updated it is consultation with the drivers.
“It is generally accepted that they should continue to evolve, not because of isolated incidents such as Austin, but driven by the desire to bring consistency to determinations and decisions from the stewards.”
Ferrari senior performance engineer Jock Clear says that the Italian team’s focus on race pace has paid off that it is a “a really good place to be.”
In Austin Carlos Sainz and Charles Leclerc qualified third and fourth, but they had superior race pace relative to McLaren and Red Bull and logged a one-two, with Leclerc ahead.
Clear said that the switch away from chasing one-lap performance has been successful.
“We’ve mentioned before that this year we had changed our focus a little bit,” said Clear. “It was clear for people to see that certainly two or three years ago, we were the kings of qualifying, and really struggled on a Sunday.
“But even last year the balance was not quite right. And I think this year, the encouraging thing is that wherever the drivers qualify, they sort of get out of get out of the car at the end of qualifying and think, yeah I know that I can race tomorrow, which for the drivers, is a really strong mentality.
“In previous years, you know that Charles has got out of the car in P1 in qualifying, and thought, ‘Now I’ve got to try and hang on to this in the race.’ And when he’s got to face 56 laps of hanging on to a position, it’s a different prospect.
“Now, we go into the race knowing, okay, we qualify P2, P3, we know we can race. We know we can win this from here. And that’s a really, really good place to be so. Psychologically and technically, it’s the right way to approach racing, for sure.”
Clear stressed that the drivers themselves have played a role in ensuring that they look after their tyres on Sundays.
“I think we’ve seen all year, and obviously we statistically look at the season as a whole, and our tyre usage and degradation is much better this year than it was last year,” he said.
“And that’s been pretty much everywhere. And again you can’t forget that a lot of the specifics of getting the tyre to do exactly what you want are down to the driver.
“And Carlos and Charles are now very good at it, and we’ve worked with them, and they’ve worked themselves very well over the last 18 months to really get on top of what was probably very much a perceived weakness two years ago, and that knowledge they have now. So they’re going to apply that everywhere.
“And I think that’s as much a factor of the tyre deg as the car itself. So they’re doing a good job, basically.”
Ferrari lost to rivals in qualifying in Austin thanks to the sequence of fast corners at the start of the lap. However Clear had downplayed the perceived weakness in that area.
“Well, the fast corners aren’t a problem, per se,” he said. “Every circuit is a compromise. We could go much faster around the fast corners if we wanted to, but we would then be compromising the slow speed.
“We made comments in Austin about we’re still losing a bit to the other cars in the high-speed, but we’re gaining huge amounts in the low-speed. And I think the compromise we took in Austin speaks for itself, if you see what I mean.”
Clear suggested that the race team is doing a good job of optimising the car: “I think that’s the encouraging thing about the way an F1 team works away, particularly at the trackside, and applies the performance that the factories delivered for you.
“You’ve got to make those choices. Where do we want to be fast? What are the most important aspects of this circuit? And we got it absolutely right in Austin, there’s some times we don’t get it absolutely right.
“But I don’t think it’s fair to say this car is weak in high-speed. I think if we had a circuit that had seven high speed corners and no low-speed corners, we would set it up, and I think we’d still be in the hunt.
“You’d have to say that Red Bull are probably still the benchmark in high-speed corners, but they’re clearly losing out quite a lot now in the low-speed. So as a compromise and as a complete package, I think we’re comfortable where we are at the moment.”
Clear made an interesting observation on how knowledge gained at the Austrian GP paid off in Austin.
“I think we got it wrong in Austria, which is a very similar circuit to Austin, funnily enough,” he said. “Not absolutely true, but there’s aspects of Austin that worked for us that were a result of what we didn’t get working in Austria.
“Obviously, we brought upgrades in Singapore, we brought upgrades in Italy that were generic. And I think Austin was a proof of that package. But more than that, what we did correctly in Austin was corrected the errors we made in Austria in terms of setup.”
Fastest in FP1 Russell then had a second big crash
George Russell left his Mercedes Formula 1 team with a second major repair job within a week after a heavy crash in FP3 in Mexico on Friday.
Having topped FP1 Russell crashed early in the second session, which was devoted to 2025 Pirelli tyre testing.
The incident came after his crash in Q2 in Austin last Saturday, which ultimately obliged him to start from the pitlane because the length of the repair job forced the team to take his car out of parc ferme.
Russell says the Mexican crash caught him by surprise.
“Definitely feel a bit winded after that one,” said Russell after his second crash. “But honestly, I don’t really know what happened. The car just started bouncing on the ground, and before I even had a chance to catch it, it was already spinning.
“I tried taking the same line, cutting that corner, and for whatever reason on this occasion in FP2, the thing just started going on me.
“So yeah, a lot of work for the guys tonight, again. Just seems like it’s one thing after another at the moment. It’s frustrating as in FP1 we were really strong, really fast.”
Meanwhile Ale Albon missed most of Friday after a collision with Ferrari third driver Oliver Bearman in FP1.
Albon clipped the slow-moving Ferrari and then had heavy contact with the barrier. The team was unable to repair the car before the end of FP2.
“I think he got told very late that I was coming up behind him,” Albon said of Bearman. “He tried his best to speed up into the two or three high speed corners. We caught each other at exactly the worst moment on the track that you can, I think there was a 100km/h difference in terms of speed.
“So I don’t blame myself, but I don’t think it’s all on Ollie. I think he could have been told a bit better. Of course, also the closing speeds in F1 are much higher than F2.”
Antonelli says he learned from the Monza incident…
Kimi Antonelli says he “learned the lesson” after his heavy accident in FP1 at Monza – and thus took a different approach when he returned to the cockpit of the Formula 1 Mercedes W15 in Mexico City on Friday.
After being fast straight out of the pits Antonelli crashed early on his first public outing on the Italian GP weekend, the day before he was officially confirmed a race driver for 2025.
At the announcement team boss Toto Wolff made it clear that the youngster had to learn that not every track outing is a qualifying session.
In Mexico he duly stayed out of trouble, acutely aware that he was driving Lewis Hamilton’s car with the only available new spec floor.
He also has to focus on homework for the team, given that the later FP2 was devoted to Pirelli tyre testing.
He finished the session in 12th place, 1.2s off team mate George Russell, with his lap times compromised by a few tenths after he ran over debris. The floor was repaired in time for FP2.
His next planned outing in the W15 will be at the Abu Dhabi rookie test in December.
“It was quite a positive day overall,” Antonelli told this writer. “Of course, it was a new track for me today, so I was trying to build step-by-step. The red flag didn’t help, of course, because I lost quite a lot of track time, but overall, it was quite okay.
“I didn’t want to take any risks in the push lap, because I wanted to just understand the car and the tyres, and build the confidence.
“Because after Monza it was a big hit, also confidence-wise, so it was good to have a clean session. And, yeah, even though there was margin overall, I’m quite happy with how it went.”
The 18-year-old confirmed that he had heeded Wolff’s advice and adopted a more cautious attitude.
“Of course, I definitely learned the lesson from Monza,” he said. “And today I think was quite a good test as well to try a new approach.
“Today I had a bit too much margin, but yeah, it’s also an FP1. You don’t really want to take risks. Also, I was doing some work for the team, some setup changes, so it was important to get the laps in without doing mistakes, and I think it was pretty good for that.”
Antonelli also confirmed that he’s been busy since his drive was announced in September.
“I mean, life changed,” he said. “I’ve been doing a lot of trackside with the team, I’ve been attending all the races so far, and also doing a lot of work at the factory, trying to continue developing for this season, but also preparing for ’25.”
Asked if he’s aware of becoming more famous in Italy he said: “I didn’t really spend much time at home, so I couldn’t really experience that. But for sure, there’s a lot more recognition.”
McLaren says that Norris was ahead – and thus Verstappen was overtaking
The McLaren Formula 1 team says it disagrees with the decision of the US GP stewards to reject its request for a right of review into the five-second penalty handed to Lando Norris in Austin.
The request was a last roll of the dice by the Woking team to try to reverse the decision that saw Norris cede third place to Verstappen, creating a six-point swing in the World Championship battle.
The stewards determined that the request did not meet the established right of review test of supplying evidence that was significant, relevant, new and unavailable to McLaren at the time of the decision, as noted in Article 14 of the International Sporting Code.
A virtual hearing was held on Friday afternoon Mexican time, with team boss Andrea Stella and racing director Randeep Singh appearing for McLaren, and sporting director Jonathan Wheatley and senior race strategy engineer Stephen Knowles representing Red Bull.
In essence McLaren’s case hinged on the claim that Norris was ahead and that in fact it was Verstappen doing the overtaking, contrary to what was noted in the original decision made by the US GP stewards.
As explained by the FIA, Singh suggested in the hearing that the new evidence was that “the document for the decision contained a statement that was incorrect and that evidenced an objective, measurable and provable error had been made by the stewards”.
The FIA said that Singh added that “the statement was that ‘Car 4 was overtaking Car 1 on the outside but was not level with Car 1 at the apex’ […] was in error because McLaren had evidence that Car 4 had already overtaken and was ahead of Car 1 ‘at the braking zone’,” and that “this error is significant and relevant and is new and was unavailable to McLaren at the time of the decision.”
The FIA noted that Stella said that the case for McLaren was a “legally sophisticated explanation” and “urged the stewards to recognise that this was a ‘substantive case’ especially compared to previous right of review cases.”
In rejecting the request the stewards say they focussed on relevance, concluding that the claim that there was an error in their original decision could not be new evidence.
They noted that “in relation to relevance, McLaren appears to submit that the stewards’ finding that ‘Car 4 was not level with Car 1 at the apex’ was an error and that Car 4 had overtaken Car 1 before the apex (and therefore that Car 1 was the overtaking car) and that this asserted error is itself, a new element.
“This is unsustainable. A petition for review is made in order to correct an error (of fact or law) in a decision. Any new element must demonstrate that error. The error that must be shown to exist, cannot itself be the element referred to.”
In the wake of the decision McLaren issue a statement making its position clear.
The team said: “We disagree with the interpretation that an FIA document, which makes a competitor aware of an objective, measurable and provable error in the decision made by the stewards, cannot be an admissible ‘element’ which meets all four criteria set by the ISC, as specified in Article 14.3.
“We would like to thank the FIA and the stewards for having considered this case in a timely manner.
“We will continue to work closely with the FIA to further understand how teams can constructively challenge decisions that lead to an incorrect classification of the race.”
Piastri will still have the older wing this weekend
Oscar Piastri will still be without the latest McLaren MCL38 front wing spec in Mexico City this weekend, although the Australian has downplayed any loss of performance relative to his team mate.
The wing was part of a package introduced in Austin, although only Lando Norris raced with it.
More updates are set be introduced in the coming races, with the team trying to ensure that they are fuller proven before they are signed off.
Asked by this writer if he had the new wing this weekend Piastri said: “Not at the moment, I don’t think. But either way, it’s a very, very small performance increase. So if I don’t have it, or if I do, it’s certainly not what’s going to make or break my weekend.
“The only thing I’m missing from last week is the front wing. Again, all of the changes we made were very, very small and minor things. So not having one of them is certainly not the end of the world.”
Team boss Andrea Stella believes that Mexico City will be more favourable to McLaren than Austin, and Piastri agrees.
“Hopefully,” he said. “We’ll see. I mean, it’s quite different in a lot of ways to Austin. Obviously, the kind of altitude and stuff like that makes it quite a different challenge, but hopefully it helps, it suits us a little bit more.
“I don’t think we necessarily expected Austin to be – painful is a bit of an exaggeration – but not as competitive as we hoped. But it wasn’t a complete surprise.”
Piastri says that the team has a better understanding as to why the MCL38 lost form in Austin.
“I think we’ve got some good ideas about why qualifying was so tricky,” he said. “Looking back at the weekend, I think the race itself was actually quite positive, especially from 12 months ago. Especially the first stint, I was going with Lando.
“The second stint a few mistakes in the middle of that hard stint, but for 95% of the race, we were a very even match. And I think even just as a team, our pace was actually quite strong. It was just that we were very slow at the start of the race, and then everyone built the gaps, and then that was kind of it for us.
“So I think it looked a little bit worse than it was. It’s just that, with the competition being so tight, if you put a step wrong, then you go from being first and second to where we were in fourth and fifth. So yeah, it’s just a very tight field.”
Sainz thinks that Qatar could be a difficult venue for Ferrari
Carlos Sainz believes that Ferrari’s winning form in Austin indicates that the SF-24 will be competitive at all the remaining venues of this season – with the possible exception of Qatar.
After a run of venues that were expected to favour the car the team’s potential at a more “normal” track like Austin was unclear ahead of the weekend.
However having qualified third and fourth the cars showed superior race pace to McLaren and Red Bull, allowing Charles Leclerc to head Sainz home in an impressive one-two finish.
The car lost out in the fast sweeps early in the lap, but made the time back in the slower stuff later on.
“I think when you look into the detail of the Austin track as long as we survived the first sector, which in qualifying, we were two-tenths of the Red Bull and the McLaren only in three or four corners, then all of the other corners were perfect for Ferrari,” said Sainz.
“And we managed to make the time back in all the low-speed stuff. We’re still lacking in high-speed corners, especially in qualifying mode, which makes me feel like Qatar will be still a difficult race for us, but all the other circuits just hopefully be on the mix.
“Then whether you win or not, it depends how’s your race pace that weekend? How is the start? How do you qualify? But at least be in the mix, which means you give yourself a chance at winning at almost every track. Except for maybe Qatar, that I think is not a Ferrari track at all.”
Sainz is optimistic about the team’s chances for the remainder of the season: “I’m hopeful. I’m more hopeful after Austin that we can keep up with this.
“At the same time, qualifying remains a bit of on Achilles heel this year, because the moment you qualify P3/P4, in a track like Mexico maybe here with a long straight you can pass in into Turn 1 at the start, but in a lot of the other tracks, you will not be able to do the kind of race that we did in Austin.”
Sainz believes that the team is in the fight for victory in Mexico this weekend.
“I hope that we can be in the mix like we were in Austin,” he said. “I think if we are in the mix, given our race pace this year and what can happen here at the start, even if you’re not on pole, you might have a chance at winning.
“Before Austin, I doubted whether we could be in the mix in tracks like Austin. The fact that we dominated there, and we were so strong, gives me hope that we can be in the mix, and as long as we are in the mix, anyone can win.”
Sainz also made an interesting revelation about the fuel issue he reported on the radio during the US GP.
“I cannot go in a lot of detail,” he said. “What I can tell you is that it obviously made me lose performance for a couple of laps, and with that, the possibility to overtake Max when I was in his DRS.
“And then it also meant that I obviously had to compensate towards the end of the race by having to save a lot of fuel. But happily, nothing happened. I actually think we were quite lucky with the fact that I could finish the race.
“But yeah, let’s say it obviously compromised quite a lot my my race. And a bit of a shame, because I felt like it was very quick that weekend, but also feeling lucky that I could finish the race in P2.”
Norris says he doesn’t need to change his approach to racing Verstappen
Lando Norris has rejected the suggestion that he needs to be more aggressive when racing wheel-to-wheel with Max Verstappen – and he says he doesn’t have to change his approach.
However the McLaren Formula 1 driver acknowledged that there are “little things” that he can do better as he attempts to beat the Dutchman to the 2024 title.
The battle for third between the pair in Austin last weekend has generated a lot of comment, with some suggesting that Norris could have done a better job.
Norris received a five-second penalty that McLaren is now contesting via a request for a right of review.
“It’s not an easy answer,” said Norris when asked if he should be more aggressive. “Honestly, it’s not as simple as just saying ‘yes.’ Do I need to make some changes? Yes, and still adapt a little bit more. But is everything I’m doing wrong? Also a no. So it’s a tough position to be in.
“Because like we saw, Max didn’t care if he won or second or third. His only job was to beat me, and he did that. So he did a good job from that side, and I had a lot of fun, and I respected our battle that we had.
“But yeah, he still ended up on top, and I need to be beating him. Some little things I need to change, but I don’t need to change my whole approach.”
Expanding on the theme he said: “He did what I guess he thought was right. I did what I thought was right. I still disagree, and I think as a team, we still disagree. I think the majority of people who were watching disagreed with the penalty that I got.
“But I’ll make the changes that I need to make, whether it’s being more aggressive at times, or less aggressive, or whatever, I’ll do what I think is right.”
He added: “I think the point if he only stayed ahead of me at the apex because he went off the track. He wouldn’t have been ahead at the apex if you braked where he should have braked, and stayed on the track. So I think that’s the most obvious point.”
Norris acknowledged that it’s not easy to wheel-to-wheel with Verstappen, but insisted that equally he’s
“Clearly Max is very good at what he does, and is probably the best in the world at what he does,” he said. “So when I’m going up against the best in the world, it’s not going to be an easy thing to do, and he’s been racing in this position for longer than I have. I’m definitely not doing a perfect job, but I’m not doing a bad job.
“I’m still staying there, I’m avoiding collisions, which a lot of things that we’ve done could have easily been and turned into worse things, like bigger crashes and stuff. And I avoided them and stayed in races which easily could have ended earlier than they have.”
Continuing with the driving guidelines theme he said: “I think there’s certain things I don’t agree with, but I still want to be racing. I don’t want there to be rules for absolutely everything.
“I just believe the slight way of how I got a penalty last weekend, and the consequence of how that happened, I didn’t agree with, and that’s the only thing I think that needs to be changed.
“But it’s clear what his intentions are. It’s a difficult route for me to get around, getting caught up in collisions, and things like Turn 1 easily could have been, or Turn 12 easily could have been. So he’s in a much more powerful position than I am. It’s up to me and team to try and overcome him.”
RBR boss Christian Horner said in Austin that he was surprised that Norris hadn’t given the place back and then used his superior pace to re-pass Verstappen.
When asked by this writer if the team could change its approach and perhaps react differently in such situations – taking the cautious route of assuming that there will be a penalty, handing the place back and then trying to pass again – Norris disagreed.
“It’s too easy for people to say this,” he said. “My tyres were getting hotter and hotter, and getting away for me more and more. My pace difference to Max was decreasing. So if I let him back past there probably might not have been a chance to get past him again.
“But just hindsight, and people’s opinions on the outside, is very simple thing. So I don’t agree with a lot of people, and what they said. That might have been my only chance. Who knows? I know best. I’m in that position.
“So I’ll give my opinion. Sometimes I’ll be right, sometimes it’s wrong. I don’t mind if people disagree with my opinion, but I’m always just trying to do what I think is best at the time, and within the rules that I believe is correct, and those kinds of things, and sometimes it’s difficult.
“Hence, I asked the team, what do you guys think? Ideally the stewards would come on and say, we don’t think this was right, give the position back. That would have been a much simpler thing to do.
“But that’s not how it works. I believed I was in the right. I’ve asked the team for confirmation. They believed that we were in the right, and therefore I’ve continued.
“So no, I think we’re doing a good job as a team. I think our approach is correct, but sometimes you just don’t come out on top.”
Hamilton is keeping faith with the new W15 floor he ran in Austin
Lewis Hamilton has stuck with the updated Mercedes W15 floor in Mexico, leaving team mate George Russell with the older spec that he raced in the Formula 1 US GP.
The team only had two of the floors in Austin, and Russell damaged his when he crashed heavily in Q3.
Having qualified only 19th Hamilton offered Russell the use of his for the race, but given the time needed to make the swap from new to old it was decided that Hamilton would keep it, and Russell would go back to the earlier version.
In the race Hamilton spun off, although the new floor wasn’t damaged. He was given the first call on running it in Mexico, and has decided to persevere with it in the belief that it will ultimately be better.
As there is still only one available example Russell will continue with the old one.
After his spin in the race Hamilton was left somewhat perplexed, but having studied the data with his engineers he now has a better idea of what happened
“We can see in the data that we have three wheeling,” he said. “So the left wheel starts moving, so the car is jacking. Basically, we can see on the rear the ride height oscillating a lot, so 12 to 15mm difference going into the corner, and you can see a 40 km/h tail wind.
“So you can imagine, there’s a small window where the downforce is perfect, and if you’re too high, then you fall off the peak. And the other side, you go over the peak.
“So I think it’s a combination of all those things. If you watch the video, the car is bouncing, the left wheel starts bouncing, and then I think it just loses load.
“And I think the floor is probably a little bit more sensitive, maybe, than the previous floor. But I’ve kept it on this weekend because it’s a much less bouncy circuit, and we need to get more data on everything.”
Asked by this writer about his offer to loan his floor for the Austin race he smiled at Russell.
“I kind of wish you did take it!” he joked. “I think it’s just ultimately I’m here to help in whatever way I can, trying to do whatever is best for the team, really.
“But in the end of the day, that was not needed, and George did a great job with the other package.
“And this weekend George is on the back the same package as last weekend, so we will get a good read. The upgrade should be better, but it’ll be interesting to see if there is much difference between the two.”
Hamilton admitted that it wasn’t easy to understand what happened in Austin, with the car proving fast on Friday before becoming difficult.
“Definitely a challenge, for sure,” he said. “Up until the last race, we’ve had a lot of confidence in the car. We’ve been improving and had our challenges, but generally, George and I were really more comfortable with throwing the car into corners, and it’s there for you.
“And then we start the last weekend… Nobody spins in Turn 3, because it’s the easiest corner on the track! And I have a spin in Turn 3 in P1. George has a crash in qualifying, and I lose the rear end completely in the race. So definitely something that was unexpected to both of us.
“George did a great job on Sunday with the old package. I’m hoping that the [new] package can be better this weekend. We’ll see. And yeah, it is frustrating. That’s the way it’s been. And we just try and to do the best job we can what we have.”
Asked if it felt odd that he was pressing on with Mercedes development while knowing that he’s going to Ferrari Hamilton downplayed the suggestion.
“I wouldn’t say that it feels odd,” he noted. “I think ultimately every bit of input that I put in now, along with George’s, for example, is contributing to the development forwards. But that’s the job, that’s what I’m paid for.
“I’m not holding anything back from any of our sessions. And at the end of the day, this is a team that I’ve been successful with for many, many, many years, and I want the team to continue to have success. That’s just how I’m wired. That’s how I am. Maybe other people do it differently.”
Adam Cooper F1 