Lewis Hamilton abruptly ended a post-race interview at the Japanese Grand Prix when questioned about his feelings of envy towards Ferrari's remarkable race speed. Hamilton, who was initially in a positive and hopeful state after qualifying, had voiced confidence in his ability to overcome the difficulties associated with the underperforming W15 car. Nevertheless, the optimism quickly diminished along with his luck on race day. Hamilton's race performance deteriorated after starting from P7, ultimately resulting in a disappointing P9 finish. Despite yielding his position to teammate George Russell, Hamilton was unable to rescue the day, which left him upset.
It was a big change from Hamilton's usual positive attitude after races. During the interview, Hamilton, who is currently falling behind Max Verstappen because of his superior performance, displayed clear signs of annoyance. In response to a question about whether he envied Ferrari's success, Hamilton's terse reply, “Do you have any better questions? ” signalled his dissatisfaction. Although Hamilton acknowledged the reporter's apology, he ended the interview prematurely, leaving the press officer to express gratitude on his behalf.
The episode showcased Hamilton's struggles over a challenging season and hinted at the hidden conflicts as he prepares for his highly debated transition to Ferrari in 2025.
F1: Mercedes W15
In the 2024 season, Mercedes' W15 has shown both potential and shortcomings, with Lewis Hamilton and George Russell struggling with difficulties. There's a lot of worry about Mercedes' lack of performance when navigating high-speed turns. Using Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) simulations and wind tunnel measurements, Mercedes examined how projected downforce statistics compare to actual performance in real-world conditions. There was a lot of effort put into understanding the deficiency in downforce.
A closer look at the W15 shows that the expected downforce is being generated, but it doesn't seem to result in any noticeable improvements in performance. As a result, the team's viewpoint has changed significantly, leading them to reconsider that the problem may be more mechanical than aerodynamic. The Mercedes team explored different setups in response to the recent Japanese Grand Prix. The shift in paradigm shows their effort to fix the underlying problems.
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