Hamilton’s Ferrari ‘unbelievably tricky to drive’ in wet as he misses podium

Hamilton’s Ferrari ‘unbelievably tricky to drive’ in wet as he misses podium

PA Media
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Lewis Hamilton said the Ferrari he drove in the wet-dry British Grand Prix “was the most difficult car I’ve driven in these conditions”.

The seven-time champion finished fourth at Silverstone behind the McLarens of Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri and Sauber’s Nico Hulkenberg.

The race started on a damp track which dried a little before a heavy rain shower and then dried again.

“The car was unbelievably tricky to drive. I think ultimately I learned a lot today, there’s lots to take from the day,” said Hamilton, who has won a record nine British Grands Prix.

“It’s only my second time driving in the wet in this car. I can’t even express to you how hard it is. It’s not a car that likes those conditions.

Hamilton said Ferrari had upgrades coming to the car in forthcoming races – these would follow a new floor that was introduced at the previous race in Austria.

The 40-year-old said he wanted “a consistent balance, a car that turns at a low speed, just a more stable car”.

He added: “We were looking great through this weekend. In practice. we were always right up there. Still weren’t able to fully extract everything in qualifying. And then the race is a little bit harder. So that’s where I want to get stronger. “

Hamilton’s third fourth place of the season means he is still to finish on the podium since joining Ferrari at the start of this season.

Team-mate Charles Leclerc finished second-last in 14th after making the wrong call to come in for slick tyres on a damp track after the formation lap. His race spiralled downhill from there.

Leclerc said: “We were kind of nowhere the whole race, and when I say nowhere it’s like really nowhere, I was a second off (the pace) and on top of that I was doing lots of mistakes.

“I was really struggling to keep the car on track so it was an incredibly difficult day. “

Team principal Frederic Vasseur said: “The main issue we had today was that we struggled a lot when we were in the dirty air to overtake.

Related topics

  • Formula 1

Source: BBC

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