Lewis Hamilton makes worrying F1 rule changes admission

Lewis Hamilton has made a worrying admission that the regulation changes made by the FIA from this weekend’s Miami Grand Prix did not feel "much different" on the simulator.

Several changes have been made to the regulations following the unscheduled five-week break, with motorsport’s world governing body having held several meetings.

In effect, three areas have been targeted: qualifying, race starts, and closing speeds. The hope is that from this weekend at the Miami International Autodrome, qualifying will return to being flat out, near-misses at race starts will become less likely, and closing speeds will be less dramatic.

The FIA spoke to the drivers during the long break for their input on what changes needed to be made to the rules, following the opening three grands prix, which featured much criticism.

While the seven-time world champion is pleased to see that the FIA is trying to make things better, he is unsure whether a major improvement will be made.

Based on his experience in Ferrari’s simulator, the changes have not made a significant difference, leaving him to wonder if the difference will feel greater when out on the circuit in Miami.

Asked if the regulations are fundamentally flawed, Hamilton replied to select media including RacingNews365: "I'm not going to say that, am I?

"I imagine they will continue to improve them through the year. We'll find out this weekend whether that change they've made will work.

"It's good to see they are making changes, whether or not it's enough. We will see this weekend.

"I drove on the sim and it didn't really feel much different, so it'll be interesting to see how that impacts us when we're on track and when we're qualifying and racing."