Hamilton approves Ferrari's updates: “They definitely work, let’s hope we make the right setup choices”

Hamilton approves Ferrari’s updates: “They definitely work, let’s hope we make the right setup choices”. Lewis Hamilton at the end of Friday at the Bahrain GP.

Lewis Hamilton at the end of Friday at the Bahrain GP

Lewis Hamilton is satisfied with the first day of on-track activity with his updated Ferrari SF-25, equipped with the first package of aerodynamic upgrades aimed at improving performance through the “small increase in downforce” also mentioned by team principal Frederic Vasseur after the end of free practice in Sakhir. The seven-time world champion, while acknowledging the major difficulties—shared by all, since even Lando Norris complained—of FP1 run on a scorching hot track, said he was entertained and moderately optimistic about being able to extract more performance thanks to the technical updates.

Lewis Hamilton’s comments

“The usual Friday,” said Lewis Hamilton in the interview ring after FP2 of the Bahrain F1 GP, which saw him finish eighth, over a second behind leader Oscar Piastri. “But it was fun. The first session was quite difficult, as always when temperatures are that high. Grip was terrible with the hard tyres in the first laps, and switching to the Softs, which were much better, was almost a shock. Then we made some setup changes and the car felt quite a bit better in FP2.”

Hamilton also described the type of work Ferrari carried out on Friday in Sakhir: “We’re trying to perfect the setup, to fine-tune the car and make sure we have good pace in the long runs, because that’s where you need to be strong on a track like this. You need consistency, and we’re trying to put the laps together, to have a car that’s easy to drive and consistent over a lap.”

Ferrari’s updates are working

He didn’t miss the chance to comment on the package of upgrades Ferrari brought to the track in Bahrain: “Yes, the update is definitely working, and a huge, massive thank you goes to all the people at home and in the factory who worked so hard to get the new parts here. It’s never easy… There’s a lot of work to be done in the wind tunnel to produce and assemble these new floors. So it’s nice to see that we’re making progress and trying to get more out of it.”