Lewis Hamilton is not sure Ferrari will win a race this season, despite the Azerbaijan Grand Prix being one of the more favourable tracks for the team.
Earlier in the season, Leclerc believed Ferrari could be competitive, but now he doubts they can win in Baku. The Monegasque did pick up a podium at Saudi Arabia – another fast street circuit – and had strong showings at low-downforce tracks like Austria and Belgium.
But they do not think they are close enough to McLaren to realistically challenge for wins under normal circumstances. They have trailed behind the soon-to-be constructors’ champions all year long.
For Hamilton, securing a Grand Prix podium in the final eight races is crucial. A year without one would be unprecedented for the sport’s most successful driver, especially considering the anticipation surrounding his recent move.
This season, he has rarely appeared at ease in Ferrari’s SF-25 for any sustained period, with the brakes posing perhaps his most significant challenge.
Karun Chandhok notes improvement in Ferrari brakes for Lewis Hamilton
For the first 18 seasons of his Formula 1 career at McLaren and Mercedes, Hamilton used Carbon Industrie brake materials. But Ferrari has a long-standing partnership with Brembo.
Hamilton used to be known for his exceptional braking ability, but this season he has been losing time on corner entry as he struggles to adapt to the different feel.
The head of Brembo has acknowledged Hamilton’s complaints but also believes some of the issues come from the driver not being fully adjusted to Ferrari’s engine braking systems.
On Sky Sports’ ‘Paddock Uncut’ prior to the Azerbaijan Grand Prix, Karun Chandhok reported that a Brembo engineer mentioned that progress has been made.
“One of the engineers I used to work in GP2, who is now at Brembo, working at Ferrari, was talking about the work they’d done with Lewis.
“Lewis had gone through his whole career at Mercedes and McLaren using the Carbon Industrie brakes. As we know, since he was karting, braking has been a strength for him – something he really puts a lot of emphasis on for his performance.
“Switching that material to Brembo has given him a different feel. It’s less grabby, gives less bite.
“They’ve spent a lot of time trying to give Lewis a feeling that he’s more familiar with, more confident with. They feel like they’ve made some good steps.”
Lewis Hamilton admits he rarely speaks to a Ferrari F1 legend
According to Ralf Schumacher, it is Hamilton’s inconsistency, not his outright pace, that has been the bigger concern. In the two races since the break, his qualifying times have not been far off Leclerc.
After going three races without points in four starts, Hamilton managed a sixth-place finish in Italy. Baku has not historically been one of his better tracks and is considered one of Leclerc’s strongest circuits, so there is potential for the gap between them to widen this weekend.
Hamilton has mentioned plans to call Sebastian Vettel to discuss ‘ideas’ about Ferrari but has not done so yet. Fernando Alonso spent five seasons with Ferrari from 2010 to 2014 but is not often in contact with his former McLaren teammate.
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