The simulator tool has been for years one of the main weapons of the teams, which cannot perform tests during the season and have limited time on the track at the Grand Prix. A tool Lewis Hamilton has ignored for years.
Lewis hamilton and Mercedes have dominated Formula 1 uninterruptedly since the hybrid era began in 2014, but in this final season of that cycle Red Bull Racing threatens to end a historic streak.
That’s why Lewis Hamilton has changed his Grand Prix preparation habits, for years the Briton has dispensed with the simulator as a Grand Prix preparation tool.
“The simulator was not his favorite tool in the past, but the fight is so tough that you need to make every marginal profit”
What happens is that now it is Max verstappen The one who dominates the championship and the seven-time champion has realized that for the first time he needs to extract every last thousandth of performance to beat his opponent.
That’s why, in the days leading up to the Silverstone race, Hamilton completed simulator sessions, something unheard of in recent years. «I have tried to give absolutely everything and leave no stone unturned. We did a practice session, trying to give the guys as much information as possible as we developed the car, “acknowledged the British driver days ago.
Everything counts
Toto wolffFor his part, he has spoken of this change in Hamilton’s routine, admitting that “the simulator was not his favorite tool in the past, but I think we have developed it to a fairly good level and made it the best in its field. class. He has begun to see the benefits of it.
And it is that the dispute between Hamilton and Verstappen has reached heights of great intensity, so it has become a “Fight so hard you need to make every marginal profitThat’s why we have made progress together to better understand the car also with the simulator tool, ”explains the Mercedes director.
At Silverstone, the simulator worked well for Hamilton, who won the victory after a controversial incident with Verstappen. «We cut the car’s deficit in terms of performance in half. It is necessary to mobilize the entire arsenal of weapons and that is what he is doing as a pilot and we as a team.