Mercedes Chief reveals what he’ll ‘miss’ about Lewis Hamilton after the Briton moves to Ferrari
Andrew Shovlin explained what he would miss about Lewis Hamilton as just four months are left before the F1 star joins Ferrari.
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Andrew Shovlin and Lewis Hamilton (via IMAGO)
Lewis Hamilton’s departure from Mercedes is just four months away with just 10 races left to race in the Silver outfit. The Briton has one of the most decorated careers in F1 and without Mercedes it was impossible for him. However, after being in the team for a decade, he will be leaving his home to join Ferrari in 2025. Andrew Shovlin highlights what he will miss about Mercedes’ greatest successor after he departs.
Mercedes’s trackside engineering director Andrew Shovlin in an interview highlighted that Lewis Hamilton was a gem of a person to work with. He would miss the character that Hamilton was at his times at Silver arrows and the feedback he used to provide. He mentioned, the Briton’s race pace has been excellent, but his contributions went beyond just speed. He brought a lot of insight into what the car needed to perform well. The 39-year-old had a great understanding of the car’s requirements and could accurately communicate what changes were needed.
I’ll miss him as a character because he’s good fun to work with. His race pace has been extremely good, but what he brought to the team is an awful lot of speed and a good feel for what the car needs.Andrew Shovlin said, as reported by PlanetF1.com
Shovlin mentioned that Lewis Hamilton is very good at pointing out the car’s weaknesses. However, it is challenging to specify exactly what will be missed from an engineering perspective by him. His ability to identify problems and give detailed feedback has been valuable. He helped engineers by not putting them in trouble and understanding exactly where the car needed improvements. Shovlin addressed, without the Briton it would’ve been harder for them to get such precise and useful information about cars. Therefore Shovlin reckoned, It is hard to say exactly how his absence will affect engineering.
He is very good at highlighting where the weaknesses are in the car. But it’s difficult to say what I would miss specifically from an engineering point of view.Andrew Shovlin added.
Andrew Shovlin claims Lewis Hamilton’s main reason for joining Ferrari wasn’t issues with the Mercedes car
Andrew Shovlin highlighted that if Mercedes had been winning championships, it would have been hard for Lewis Hamilton to leave the team. However, Shovlin believed Hamilton’s main reasons for moving were not just about the car’s performance. He seemed to want a new challenge and a different experience in his career, beyond his very successful time with Mercedes. The Briton chose Ferrari as his new chapter, highlighting interest in exploring new opportunities rather than just addressing any issues with the car.
I think, if we’d been winning championships, it would have been difficult for Lewis to say no, he said. However, I think his biggest reasons are not necessarily ones of car performance. He clearly wants to have another chapter in his career beyond his very successful one with Mercedes.Andrew Shovlin stated.
Certainly, Mercedes’ decline in performance also affected Lewis Hamilton’s performance in the last few years. Fans thought Hamilton moved to Ferrari because of this issue. However, Shovlin addressed that his reasons for moving were different. Therefore, the 50-year-old stated that the Briton didn’t leave because of car issues at Mercedes.
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Gaurang Kadam
(535 Articles Published)