Lewis Hamilton has spent extensive time with Ferrari ahead of his first F1 campaign with the Italian squad. Following a series of private tests, Hamilton took part in pre-season testing in Bahrain last week, posting 162 laps throughout the three-day event. Haas' Oliver Bearman, who has been part of the Ferrari junior programme for several years, revealed he noticed Hamilton made changes to the steering wheel - likely to favour his muscle memory from his 12-year stint at Mercedes. This includes the specific positioning of key buttons such as the team radio and pit limiter. Hitting the latter button in error would be disastrous for a driver as it would slow their speed to 80 km/h. Hamilton has also adopted the DRS button on the left side of his steering wheel for easy access. Below, you can see a recent example of his steering wheel from Mercedes.
Hamilton's key F1 steering wheel changes
But what exactly are the changes that Hamilton has made at Ferrari, and how does his wheel layout compare to team-mate Charles Leclerc? Starting at the front of the wheel, the large 'N' button on the upper left, which puts the car in neutral, has been replaced by the 'CHR' button to activate the hybrid system's regeneration. The pit limiter 'P' button is located on the top right of Leclerc's wheel, however Hamilton has the 'PC' button in the same place which allows him to confirm a pit stop. The neutral 'N' and 'P' pit limiter options have been shifted downward, with the former moving in the place previously occupied by the 'radio' button. Meanwhile the 'P' pit limiter has taken the place of the '-10' option which scrolls through the display pages on the steering wheel's screen. The 'radio' button now sits where the 'CHR' previously occupied - as it suggests, it opens the team radio line that allows him to communicate to his race engineer Riccardo Adami. Hamilton also prefers to have his DRS button within reach of his thumb, another key difference from Leclerc. However, the changes are not just limited to the front. At the back of the steering wheel, Hamilton is utilising a thinner gear selector paddle that is positioned higher than Leclerc's. What does remain the same between the two, however, is the clutch paddle which is activated on the right hand side of wheel. See the full changes below!
https://www.instagram.com/p/DGzzbh_oaN0/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link&igsh=MzRlODBiNWFlZA==
View this post on Instagram A post shared by Racingnews365.com | F1 News (@racingnews365com)
Most read
