How ironic that Hamilton should finish behind Antonelli – but what is going on with Ferrari? Has their simulator been holding Hamilton back? – Tom
Lewis Hamilton was in good competitive shape in Canada, and was quicker than team-mate Charles Leclerc all weekend.
After the previous race in Miami, he had mentioned that he felt the Ferrari simulator was sending him up the wrong path on set-up, so he intended not to use it before Canada, and in Montreal he confirmed that had been the case.
He said: “I felt like we started on the right foot, came with the right attitude, and the car really generally felt great.”
This is a sticky situation because Hamilton does not want to be seen to be criticising the simulator. At the same time, he thinks he has locked on to a reason for why he has been struggling for much of the time at Ferrari and wants to make it public.
“The simulator,” he said after the race, “I’m sure I would drive it at some point. What could be good is, for example, going back and doing correlation to this weekend so we can find out where it’s missing.
“The test driver will only know what they know because it’s only Charles and I get to drive the car.
“So, the positive of being able to drive the real car, go back and say, ‘This is actually what it feels like. These are the things that we’re missing [from the simulator experience].’ So we can improve it. I’m always there to help the team move forward and develop it.
“Now, whether I use it to prepare for another race? Probably not. There are just too many risks. If you look at the two best races I’ve had, I didn’t use a simulator. And that’s honestly how it was.
“Pretty much all the championships [I won] before, except for probably 2008, I didn’t use the sim. So it’s not a necessity. It’s a tool that can be powerful. But for me, I’m old school. I’m probably better without it.”
There is one unanswered question here. When Hamilton says the “two best races” he has had this year, he is referring to China and Canada.
But these are also two tracks where he has always been extremely strong. You could say they are his best circuits, along with Silverstone and Hungary.
So, while there is no reason to doubt Hamilton’s concerns or observation about the simulator, there probably needs to be some more corroborating evidence over a larger number of races before firmly concluding this is a definitive solution to and explanation for his previous issues.
