“It’s really helped me a lot” – Lewis Hamilton’s big choice proved right with an amazing Ferrari stat shown
Lewis Hamilton feels really good about his choice to stop using the Ferrari Formula 1 simulator in the past few weeks. Before the Canadian Grand Prix in May, the British driver shared that he quit the simulator because it didn’t feel right and it was hurting his performance.
Since then, things have gone great for him. In the last five races, Hamilton has scored more points than any other driver, including his Mercedes teammates Kimi Antonelli and George Russell. Hamilton earned 96 points, while Antonelli got 79 and Russell 74 during that time.
Even though Mercedes had some problems, Hamilton’s strong driving helped him make the most of the chances he got. He finished third at the British Grand Prix earlier this month and knows he needs another good race at the Belgian Grand Prix this weekend.
When asked if he’s used the Ferrari simulator lately, he said, “No.” And about the choice, he said, “Massively helpful. I tried it all last year, but when I was with Mercedes in the early years, I didn’t use it. At some point, we just stopped.”
He explained, “I’ve been using simulators since 1997, and they can be really useful tools, but they can also lead you the wrong way. Last year, that really happened to me, and it was the same when I was at Mercedes. That’s why I stopped. Since then, my performance has improved a lot.”
Right now, Hamilton is third in the driver’s championship with just two races before the summer break. He’s not the favorite for the title, which is looking more likely for the Mercedes drivers, but he’s happy to race in a car that can compete with the best this year.
He added, “This track is tough because of all the straights. We went to Silverstone and thought we’d struggle on power, but the car was faster through the corners than we expected, which was great.
“Coming here, we’re not sure what to expect because this track has about 50% more straights. Last race, we were about three or four tenths behind, so here it might be a bit more. But we’re doing everything we can.
“I’m really proud of the team. They keep working hard to make the car better. Instead of waiting months for a big upgrade, we’re making small improvements every week, which is awesome.”