(Motorsport-Total.com) – Lewis Hamilton recently gave a clear rejection to the Ferrari simulator. The seven-time Formula 1 world champion believes that the results from the simulator do not match the behavior of the SF-26 on the track. However, teammate Charles Leclerc does not share this assessment.
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Simulators have gained significantly in importance in Formula 1 in recent years, as opportunities for test drives with current vehicles have been severely restricted. They serve the teams both for preparation for race weekends and for evaluating new vehicle parts before their use on the track.
No necessity
Hamilton had recently expressed his dissatisfaction with the Ferrari simulator several times. His two best season results so far were achieved on weekends where he did not rely on the simulator for preparation. Therefore, he declared his intention to do without it in the future.
“If you look at the two best races I’ve had, I haven’t used a simulator. That’s how it actually was,” says Hamilton after his second place at the Canadian Grand Prix. “In practically all championships before that, except probably 2008, I didn’t use a simulator. So it’s not a necessity.”
Leclerc sees the situation differently
“That doesn’t affect my preparation at all,” says Charles Leclerc in Monaco about Hamilton’s assessment of the simulator. “In the end, we all have our preferences. For me, the simulator has worked very well.”
“I’ve been doing this since I entered Formula 1. I won’t change anything about it because it has been a very powerful tool for me in the past,” the Monegasque continued.
The differing views of Leclerc and Hamilton highlight the importance of routines, habits, and pattern recognition for Formula 1 drivers, as well as the role of personal trust in one’s own working methods.
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How simulators gained importance
Until the late 2000s, teams could conduct almost unlimited test drives outside of Grand Prix weekends. Restrictions essentially only arose from available budgets. Many top teams at the time maintained their own test crews.
In the last years of his term as FIA President, Max Mosley advocated for a reduction in test drives to cut costs. In 2007, mileage restrictions were initially introduced. The global financial crisis subsequently facilitated further measures, so that in-season test drives were banned from 2009.
The specific regulations have changed several times since then, but test drives remain severely restricted. As a result, a large part of the development work shifted to the virtual world of simulators.
Schumacher also did without simulators
Michael Schumacher famously could not use the simulator during his Formula 1 comeback with Mercedes in 2010 because it made him nauseous. Hamilton’s problem, however, lies elsewhere. He believes that the simulator does not sufficiently realistically depict the actual behavior of the car and is therefore not worth his time or mental energy.
It is noteworthy that his own teammate, Leclerc, does not share this assessment. Whether this different approach of the two Ferrari drivers will last in the long term will probably only become clear in the course of the season.
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