Lewis Hamilton’s changing attitude is one of the most painful things to see so far this season.
While I’m not hoping that the seven-time world champion will be completely satisfied with the steady progress so far, Hamilton’s aggressiveness and enthusiasm for the new challenges he faced with Ferrari was contagious in the early months. And it quickly erodes as he struggled to adapt to his new machinery.
He was particularly down after the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix, and saw optimism in Bahrain a week ago, but was unable to capitalize on it. Hamilton said he didn’t think there was any real progress in the two weeks between the races, hoping it would be difficult in Miami and perhaps all year round.
Hamilton was still downbeat, even if there was a bit of a distance between Jeddah’s frustration and his arrival in Florida.
“A lot,” Hamilton said. “There are a variety of things. There are no specific things.
“When I joined Mercedes, the first six months were difficult to work with new people. Obviously, the engineers I currently work with are used to setting up cars for different drivers and different driving styles.
Hamilton was more positive about the overall move, a part of the team, and his gratitude for how supportive Ferrari was, but he clearly lost much of the spring in his step earlier this year.
The person he mentioned as the various drivers the engineers worked with – Carlos Sainz – but in reality he was particularly enlightened about the difficulties Hamilton faces and why he should not be judged too quickly.
“No, I’m not surprised at all,” Size said. “I was hoping for it with myself and with him. There’s no secret to this sport. And when you’re playing against two teammates like us, they know that the team is on the flip side and they’re already performing at the greatest that the car can play.
“It’s impossible, so you can’t make a few tenths of a sudden arrival and make it faster. They’re already at the limit of the car. So when you jump to a new team and expect yourself and everyone around you to be at that level, you know it takes a little time.
“The faster the process, the faster it gets at that level, the longer it may take or shorter for some drivers. Lewis had a great weekend in China, so it seems he’s a little more problematic.
Sainz had his own struggle in the opening round at Williams, but his performance clearly improved in the past two races in Bahrain and Saudi Arabia, leading to optimism that he began to understand his new car better. The Spaniards warn that it’s not that simple, and different drivers require different lengths of time to adapt.
“It’s a tough question because it depends on how naturally the car comes to you,” he said. “It depends on how natural your relationship with the engineer is and how the blend comes in. I’ve always said that to get to know a car better you need at least six months or a year to experience it all with that car.
“That doesn’t mean you can’t perform that year. This is another topic. You can perform at 100% or 99%, and 99% may still be pretty good.
“I’m not using that as an excuse. I want to play like I did in Jeddah from race 1, even at 97%. But I know it’s going to take time and demand myself.”
One of the biggest factors that Sainz thinks need to take into consideration is cars of the current generation. The best drivers are often said to be the ones who adapt the fastest to what they are driving, but Sainz believes they have actually closed the number of avenues that drivers can explore to get lap times from the machine.
“I’ve felt that these cars need to drive them in a very specific way to be quick,” he said. “A ’21 car can bring two or three different driving styles and reach more or less the same lap time.
“The more you drive this generation of cars and the more you dig into the data, the more you realize you need to get closer to one driving style, and if you don’t drive that way, you won’t be quicker.
“It’s just the car interaction with you that allows you to drive that particular way. You need to understand that. That’s a good point. I think these cars are especially difficult.”
But does that mean that Hamilton’s struggle will last year all year, until new regulations exist next season? His predecessor says he underestimates how to adjust an F1 vehicle to find the characteristics he likes as a driver.
“For me, this is just one of the 15 things you have to relearse,” Sainz said. “Some teams like to use engine braking to turn cars. Other teams prefer to use more differentials, others prefer to use brake movement.
“I can’t imagine the amount of fluctuations that can make a car reach similar lap times in a completely different way.
“It certainly might be one of the 15-20 things I’m still trying to figure out. Of course I’m putting high engine braking on Williams to see if it works. I’m trying low maps. I’m trying mechanical balance. I try everything every week to see what I don’t like the car.
“There’s something that suits your style.
“I know you’re trying to get it wrong a few times, but if you click and click ‘This works, it actually feels good.’ ”
Who knows that Hamilton might find Eureka moments in the Ferrari, but as Sainz continues to search for his own, he is sure there will be a future moment in which that energy will return for the age of 40. Don’t think there’s always something about each one at the same time.