Valtteri Bottas Highlights the Key Problem Holding Lewis Hamilton Again at Ferrari
Lewis Hamilton’s begin to life at Ferrari has been something however easy, and in response to Valtteri Bottas, one vital, “complicated” space would be the root explanation for his struggles. Bottas, who partnered Hamilton at Mercedes between 2017 and 2021, is aware of the seven-time world champion higher than most, having witnessed firsthand the height of his success — when Hamilton secured 4 of his six titles in Mercedes silver.
Now, in his new chapter with Ferrari, Hamilton seems a distant contender for the 2025 System 1 World Championship. After switching from Mercedes to the Scuderia forward of this season, the Briton has amassed solely 30 factors throughout the opening 5 rounds, failing to realize a race end larger than fifth place.
Persistent difficulties adapting to the nuances of Ferrari’s SF-25 have left Hamilton sitting seventh within the standings, trailing championship chief Oscar Piastri by 68 factors. Ferrari’s inner assessments reportedly mirror disappointment as effectively, with teammate Charles Leclerc outperforming Hamilton and presently rating fifth with 47 factors.
Valtteri Bottas Pinpoints Ferrari’s Engine Administration as Hamilton’s ‘Most Advanced’ Hurdle
Ferrari’s engineers imagine that Hamilton should refine his driving strategy to totally harness the SF-25, notably in dealing with the automobile’s notoriously unstable rear finish — a difficulty that has hampered him throughout high-speed sections and heavy braking zones.
But, in Bottas’s view, Lewis Hamilton’s best problem lies elsewhere. The Finnish driver means that Hamilton’s “most complicated” impediment is adapting to managing the intricacies of Ferrari’s energy unit. Having pushed Mercedes-powered automobiles solely all through his F1 profession till this season, Hamilton is navigating a steep studying curve with Ferrari’s engine — regardless that Bottas famous that the elemental variations between the 2 energy models are comparatively minor.
Talking to the Italian web site Automoto.it, Valtteri Bottas defined that whereas the transition won’t be overwhelmingly tough, with solely slight variations in drivability between engines, the actual complexity stems from managing the settings and changes, notably resulting from Ferrari’s completely different terminology and programs. Bottas emphasised that after a driver learns the fundamentals of those changes, working the ability unit turns into considerably simpler and extra intuitive.
A Recent Begin: Valtteri Bottas Sees Constructive Indicators for Hamilton at Ferrari Regardless of Early Struggles
The Finnish driver himself is accustomed to this transition. After leaving Mercedes, he spent the previous three seasons at Sauber, the place he gained expertise with Ferrari’s energy models, including to a résumé that additionally contains driving Renault engines throughout his early Williams days in 2012 and 2013.
Now, Hamilton faces an analogous adaptation course of, after having relied solely on Mercedes’ V8 and V6 turbo-hybrid engines all through his illustrious profession from 2007 till 2024. Past the ability unit, the Briton’s’s problem is compounded by his ongoing battle to grasp the SF-25’s distinctive traits, which has seen him often lag behind Charles Leclerc — together with a notable instance in on the 6.174-kilometre Jeddah Corniche Circuit in Saudi Arabia the place he trailed his teammate in each session aside from Q1 and wanted two runs simply to advance.
However, Valtteri Bottas stays optimistic about Lewis Hamilton’s prospects. Regardless of acknowledging that his former teammate remains to be deep in an adaptation part, Bottas believes Hamilton has already demonstrated flashes of his enduring tempo. He pointed to the Chinese language Grand Prix weekend as a main instance, the place Hamilton not solely secured pole place for the Dash however went on to dominate the race, ending nearly seven seconds forward of Oscar Piastri.
The previous Mercedes and Sauber driver conveyed that he sees the seven-time System 1 world champion as “doing effectively” total and advised that the transfer to Ferrari has injected new power into the 39-year-old’s profession. In accordance with Valtteri Bottas, the challenges that Hamilton is presently dealing with may in the end work in his favor, revitalizing his motivation and competitiveness for the seasons forward.
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