F1 Pundit urges Lewis Hamilton to change ‘lifetime’ trait for Ferrari

F1 insider Alex Brundle pointed out the key trait Lewis Hamilton needs to change to succeed at Ferrari.

F1 Pundit urges Lewis Hamilton to change ‘lifetime’ trait for Ferrari

Lewis Hamilton (via AP)

Lewis Hamilton is the most successful driver in the history of Formula 1. The sporting world erupted when the seven-time world champion announced his move to the biggest name in motorsport, Scuderia Ferrari. However, this fairytale union has not met expectations with Hamilton struggling to get back to his old form. Now, F1 insider Alex Brundle has warned the 40-year-old for making some big changes if he wants to succeed at Maranello.

Hamilton’s stint at the Scuderia has been marred with issues so far. The British driver has simply not been comfortable with his Ferrari car, having only driven Mercedes-powered F1 cars throughout his career. Albeit, there were some glimpses of hope, particularly, Lewis Hamilton‘s shock sprint victory at the Chinese GP. Nevertheless, things have not improved since.

After the Saudi Arabian GP, the seven-time world champion confessed that he expected to go through a painful campaign till the rest of the season. This comment showed that Lewis Hamilton was really losing hope of improvement at least for his debut Ferrari campaign.

Alex Brundle asserted that a major reason for Hamilton’s struggles is his driving technique which focused on getting the most out of Mercedes cars. Brundle insisted that the 40-year-old will need to change this lifetime habit in order to extract pace out of his Ferrari machinery.

The 34-year-old pointed out that Lewis Hamilton was still trailing behind at the Scuderia after five races into the season. As such, it was unclear whether the seven-time world champion will be able to change his technique and fight for wins this year.

Can he coach himself out of a lifetime’s worth of driving technique to move towards a car? We’ll find out. Lewis [is] still behind the game at Ferrari, so you wonder if it’s going to be possible.

Alex Brundle said on F1 Nation podcast

Alex Brundle compares Lewis Hamilton with Charles Leclerc at Ferrari

Charles Leclerc has continued to have the upper hand at the Scuderia so far. The Monegasque driver has remained unfazed against the seven-time world champion. This has allowed Leclerc to be the standout driver for Maranello despite Lewis Hamilton’s arrival. Brundle has highlighted the difference between the two drivers.

Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc (via Ferrari)
Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc (via Ferrari)

The 34-year-old claimed that since the start of the season, Hamilton’s car data has shown that his driving traits remain the same. The seven-time world champion applies more pressure on the brakes in high-speed corners compared to Leclerc. This perhaps translates into losing some crucial time to his teammate on-track.

I look at the data from Lewis every weekend, and the trait is the same. So, he goes into the high-speed corners, he hits a little bit more brake pressure than Leclerc.

Alex Brundle stated

Moreover, Alex Brundle highlighted that the difference was evident in the telemetry graphs, showing the disparity between the two drivers. He further stated that Lewis Hamilton couldn’t get the car in the right window in such conditions while Leclerc managed the brakes perfectly, ensuring that he maximizes performance.

You can draw a line directly up the wheel-speed graph to the steering trace, and the brake aligned perfectly with a tiny little bit of movement. So, he just upsets the Ferrari, like everywhere. Leclerc is just Mr. Measured on the brakes.

Alex Brundle added

Certainly, Lewis Hamilton has work to do if he wants to bounce back at the Scuderia. The 40-year-old would be hoping to get more comfortable with the car in the coming weeks. However, the seven-time world champion is running out of time for this season.

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