Lewis Hamilton says this 12 months’s Ferrari is probably the most troublesome automotive he’s ever pushed within the moist at Silverstone, after ending fourth within the British Grand Prix.
Ferrari’s hopes have been excessive going into qualifying on Saturday after spectacular tempo within the dry on each high and low gasoline, however Q3 in the end resulted in disappointment with Hamilton fifth and teammate Charles Leclerc sixth. Moist climate offered a possibility 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 obtained some factors nonetheless … It was probably the most troublesome automotive I’ve pushed right here in these circumstances.
“I used to be placing [Norris] underneath lots 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 tough to drive.
“I feel, in the end, I realized quite a bit, there’s tons 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 arduous it’s. It is not a automotive that likes these circumstances.
“However having a number of knowledge to take from this, for me it is to sit down down with the folks which might be designing the automotive for subsequent 12 months, as a result of there’s components of this automotive that may go into the next 12 months.”
Ferrari group principal Fred Vasseur admits the group didn’t make the right calls with its technique both, though he factors on the market have been different elements that made decision-making a problem.
“You possibly can say now that it was in all probability 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 quicker in some corners than all the fellows on intermediates.
“It’s the form of state of affairs that in the event you wait the others do it earlier than you and it’s at all times too late and I feel it’s fairly straightforward 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 must take the choice on the pit wall it’s at all times a tough one since you at all times should anticipate. And on high of that we misplaced the GPS of Lewis for the entire race and that meant we have been fully blind and we didn’t know the place the automotive was. It was a troublesome one.”
