After the Imola weekend, Lewis Hamilton made a stop in Maranello. “I spent Monday on the simulator, and it’s incredible to see how engineers and mechanics never stop. People probably don’t realize it, but after a week like Imola, on Monday morning everyone was already working in Maranello.” For Lewis Hamilton, the weekend in Romagna ended with a result that doesn’t deserve applause but at the same time is not without positive signs.
“We are all aware that there are many aspects we need to improve, but positive aspects were not lacking. Clearly, qualifying has been our weak point so far, we are not making the best use of the tires, and that is something we are working on. I have ideas, the team has ideas, and we will try them this weekend, even though Monaco is not the best place to get absolute feedback.”
Having completed the first quarter of the season, Lewis is starting to settle more into the Ferrari ‘system.’ “It’s a natural progression, I feel more comfortable in the team and I’m happy to be where I am. It has been a challenge for both sides, but we are really finding harmony in the way we are approaching this situation, and I hope there will be good repercussions for the rest of the season.”
On paper, Ferrari’s expectations for the Monaco weekend shouldn’t be too optimistic. The combination of the SF-25 and slow corners isn’t ideal, and Monte Carlo offers nothing different. Hamilton is cautious for now.
“I’m still in my first year with this team, and every weekend I experience something new. Last weekend was the first time I participated in a European race as a Ferrari driver, and in the past, I wondered more than once how it would be to drive a Ferrari on this track. In recent years Charles has always been very fast here, so we’ll have to see how the car will perform and if it will be very different from previous years. Frankly, it’s hard to know how it will go, but I can say I’m looking forward to being on track.”
Lewis Hamilton was also asked about the decision to impose a two-stop strategy in Sunday’s race…
“We will also have softer tires, and in the end, I think it’s positive to try something different; we know that if we keep doing the same thing, the result will be the same. Then we’ll evaluate at the end of the weekend whether the feedback is positive or not, but I believe we will see a different race compared to last year. And besides… I like trying something different.”
Lewis is also experiencing something different as a film producer. Last night, all the drivers were invited to a private screening of the movie “F1, the movie,” which will soon be in cinemas, a project that saw Hamilton involved as a co-producer.
“There was a huge, huge amount of work, in so many aspects, including making everything as credible as possible. And when I saw all the drivers sitting in the theater… well, I didn’t know what to expect, I had already watched the film several times and observed their reactions. It was fantastic, I care a lot about what the drivers think and I asked for their opinion, and I believe everything went well.”
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