Lewis Hamilton has struggled to adapt to life at Ferrari during the first half of the season, leading him to submit in-depth documents to the engineers.
The notes cover many areas, including working methods, communication between departments, and race weekend execution, which he believes need to be altered going forward.
It also refers to technical factors, closely linked to the car and its preparation, which Hamilton has been trying to modify since the start of the season to tailor it to his needs.
The first change concerned his driving position, and more specifically, the pedals, which had to be adapted to his braking style.
This was a successful modification in terms of hardware, but it was nevertheless a complex factor for Ferrari to consider.
Complications arose through the engine braking, something that Hamilton never had to utilise during his successful stint at Mercedes.
While it is something that can be modified in terms of calibration, it is a factor that is a specific characteristic of the engine and therefore likely underestimated in Hamilton’s adaptation.
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Elsewhere, the precision of the front end when cornering was one of the key focuses for Ferrari in the design stage of the SF-25.
The front-end geometry has effectively achieved its precision goals at corner entry, but at the same time, it has progressively caused the SF-25 to understeer on the more technical sections of the track.
This characteristic was often compensated for, especially on Hamilton's car, with greater front-end load.
But this created another limitation with increased steering sensitivity. Hamilton seemingly wished to work on this problem further through different setups in the simulator, but found himself limited in his choice of basic configurations ahead of race weekends.
It marked another hurdle as Hamilton was unable to fully immerse himself in the changes to the car's behaviour when the setup was modified. This would seem - at least in part - to be the reason behind what we might call ‘patchwork setup’ choices.
Hamilton has progressively chosen configurations that, in theory, would not be optimal in terms of the aerodynamic and dynamic balance of the SF-25.
It has since been confirmed that the seven-time champion was seeking rear-end stability equal to that of the front end.
This sits as a substantial difference from the consistency of setup choices from Leclerc.
Ultimately, this is a factor that can render data sharing within the pit virtually useless, as there is no single interpretation of the choices made by the two drivers.
Looking ahead, if this makes it difficult for Hamilton to get on top of the developments brought to the SF25, which Leclerc speaks positively about, questions must be asked about how Ferrari will tackle the construction of next year’s car.
See the key areas Hamilton has struggled with at Ferrari below!
BLUE - Stable front end under braking and precise corner entry achieved with very rigid geometry, which induces understeer in certain sections
YELLOW - Low steering sensitivity to feel the car's grip limit. This is why Hamilton cannot perceive it accurately through the SF-25's steering wheel
GREEN – Hamilton wants maximum rear stability when cornering, often using more downforce than Leclerc
Also interesting:
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