The Chinese GP weekend sees Lewis Hamilton enter Shanghai after the worst start to a season of his career. The Sprint race weekend could offer Mercedes a few more opportunities to redeem itself at a circuit considered more suitable for the W15 – at least compared to previous races.
HAMILTON: “LET’S BRING LESSONS FROM SUZUKA HERE”
In Shanghai, Mercedes does not bring any updates. Still, Lewis Hamilton hopes that lap time will be unlocked from a better understanding of the car:
“Nothing has changed about our car; it will be the same. But we understand it a little more. In the last grand prix, we made some improvements, and we bring some of these lessons here. I think if we could go back, we would have done things differently. That’s the benefit of hindsight and experience.
“Let’s see if we can implement some of these changes that maybe we would have made in Suzuka, and hopefully that can bring us some performance .”
Considering the fine margins separating the teams chasing Red Bull, fine margins can make a difference. Hamilton himself knows this well, missing out in Suzuka after suffering damage to the front wing:
“I think the little things make a big difference to the result overall. A tenth or two more in qualifying, and you’re four places higher on the grid. At Suzuka, in hindsight, we would not have made the courageous choice to start on the hard tyres, which, with the information we had at the time, was absolutely the correct decision. The race would have gone on very, very differently .”
In the last two weekends, Mercedes wasn’t helped by the characteristics of the circuits, which were less suited to the W15:
“We are in a battle that is being played on thin margins at the moment, and I think we have been on the wrong side in the last two race weekends,” added teammate George Russell.
“They were circuits that didn’t really suit the characteristics of our car. This will be a really good test to see where we are, for example, compared to McLaren. They seem to be strong in high-speed corners and a little weak in low-speed corners. And we believe we have more potential to show. As I said in the last race, if the season had started on four different circuits, we might be in a very different position now .”
THE SPRINT OPPORTUNITY
As is known, the Chinese GP weekend will be the first of the year with a Sprint format. A novelty that can open up different scenarios, even more so considering that we are returning to racing in Shanghai after five years:
“There certainly isn’t enough time for anyone, but the fact is that we are all in the same boat, and before the race, there will be a huge amount of question marks,” Russell commented.
“We have had Sprint races where we did well, like in Brazil in 2022, and then we won the race while others did things wrong. And we’ve had weekends where we didn’t get it right. I think it depends on how sensitive these tyres are, how complex the cars are, and other variables like getting into the right window. There may be some surprises. I’m pretty excited to see what it brings.”
The Mercedes driver is happy with the changes made to the Sprint weekend format:
“It certainly helps to have the possibility of being able to change. With the previous format, you had all these brilliant engineers up and down the paddock, and after the first practice session, essentially, their job was done for the rest of the weekend. Now, people are given a second chance. The personnel in Brackley and Brixworth will work on Friday evening to improve and ensure quality on Saturday.”
THE RECURRING STORY: THE MOVE TO FERRARI
The start of the 2024 season has been the worst in Hamilton’s long career. When the Briton was asked if this might have a connection with his decision to leave Mercedes for Ferrari, the response was rather stern:
“I don’t feel I need my decision to be vindicated – I think I know what’s right for me. And that hasn’t changed since I made the decision. I didn’t let other people’s comments influence me. Even today, there are people who continue to talk bullshit, and it will continue like this for the rest of the year, and I will simply have to do what I did last time. Only you can know what is right for you. IT will be an exciting time for me.”
THE ISSUE OF HUMAN RIGHTS
In the past, Hamilton has often spoken out for human rights. This is especially true when F1 has raced in countries where governments have often limited freedoms. China obviously doesn’t shine from this point of view, but when asked specifically, the seven-time world champion was less combative than usual:
“There’s not much I can say that can make a difference. We run to many places where there are human rights issues. What do you want to say? Even if you do, it makes no difference. Nothing I do will change what the government does here, not where I live. And so there’s really not much I can say.”
