Lewis Hamilton needed to take a step forward with Ferrari. In F1, you keep growing, even when you’re well into your forties. The British driver’s adaptation is not yet complete: the usual learning curve still has to be traveled. The seven-time world champion was fascinated by the Italian crowd, and for him experiencing this first emotion in front of a home crowd is priceless.
Lewis seems more comfortable with the SF-25.
Behind the wheel of car number 44, the Englishman performed well in the first of the two practice sessions. In fact, he even did better than his teammate, who was more focused on pushing the car’s limits. It is often said that Lewis’s driving style is very similar to Charles’s. However, just listening to the engine sound through the onboard cameras clearly shows how he uses the accelerator differently.
The same applies to corner optimization, where he often sacrifices the entry to gain more traction on exit. On the side note of this discussion, it should be said that Lewis Hamilton seems sharper at Imola compared to Miami. Maybe it’s the environment pumping him up. The fact is he appears decidedly more at ease with Ferrari. Tomorrow we will know more: we will understand if this feeling has solid grounds or not.
Like his teammate, Lewis also struggled and battled with the SF-25. A difficult car to drive, very tricky when it decides not to cooperate. Today, the tendency to understeer was more evident in FP1, then it was also felt in the following session with the yellow-band Pirellis. Then, with the C6 Pirellis, things changed: more grip meant more stability, and the Brit found a better feeling.
Lewis satisfied halfway
The path taken regarding the setup construction might be the right one. This is what Lewis Hamilton means with his words. However, just like Charles, he emphasized the work that still needs to be done to optimize the SF-25’s performance. There is still room for improvement both in the car and in the Englishman’s skill. In front of the TV cameras, the seven-time champion speaks openly.
The ex-Mercedes driver is very analytical in F1, trying to convey his point of view by describing various situations experienced aboard the Modena car. This Friday spent on the banks of the Santerno River, however, he appears more concise in his preliminary assessment. He limits himself to judging the first practice session as positive, where despite the usual headaches, he found a fairly satisfactory balance.
After the modification made in FP1 to the car setup, where the rear suspension schemes were tweaked to modify the stiffness of the push-rod at the rear, the British driver confirms no further changes were made to the base setup. Only the usual adjustments to the front downforce, as he felt quite comfortable with the car.
Things were different in FP2 for the Stevenage talent. The reason is simple: more effort was needed, because with the Ferrari SF-25 some complications also arose in finding consistent performance. For this reason, he can’t wait to calmly analyze everything and figure out how to fix the car to produce a better performance tomorrow.
The work program was nevertheless completed without hitches, and this is already positive news. Even in the long runs, things went well, gathering a lot of information to work on improvements. Hamilton therefore expects a performance leap that he thinks is possible. On the other hand, if he wants to fight toe-to-toe with his teammate first, before the rivals, he needs an additional push.
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