Hamilton disappoints Ferrari fans with reality check on updates

19:38, 24 Jul

Updated: 20:19, 24 Jul

byKada Sarkozi

Over the two-weekend break in Formula 1, Ferrari did complete a filming day at Mugello. How did the car feel? Lewis Hamilton did not raise the hopes of the Tifosi in Belgium.

After he finished in P4 and just missed out on a podium at his home Grand Prix in Silverstone, Hamilton drove the SF-25 equipped with upgrades at Mugello.

Asked about it over the press conference, the Briton said: "We didn’t test. It was a photo shoot day, basically. So did like 10 laps or whatever—14 laps of filming. It was not a test."

He also shared his verdict on the car: "The same as before. So the same as it did the weeks before."

Can already Ferrari reap the rewards of this new package at Spa-Francorchamps, where the British world champion won the previous season. "No. I think, well, firstly, we'll get to test the suspension tomorrow, and I’m sure there's going to be learnings from it. We'll figure out how to fine-tune it and try to extract performance from it. On the simulator, there's no difference. But I'm sure across different circuits, perhaps there'll be benefits."

He added: "For me, the positive thing is arriving at the filming day where you see that new bits are coming. You see that we are getting development. Because in general, we had an upgraded floor in Bahrain. Then it was quite some time before we got another upgrade—I think it was Austria. And pace-wise it wasn’t necessarily what I thought we would have. If you look at some of the other teams, they bring small pieces every single weekend—like Red Bull often do or Mercedes do, for example."

"Whereas these are more like big chunks along the way. So I was just really happy to see that there clearly is a big push back at the factory. There are a lot of changes, and then to see the results of those changes takes time. So I was just really grateful to see that we got new parts. We'll try and put them to use this weekend."

Hamilton driving the SF-25 in Silverstone

Sprint weekend causes extra difficulty

Similarly to 2023, there will be a Sprint this weekend in Belgium, meaning that teams will only have a single free practice session ahead of Sprint Qualifying on Friday afternoon. Mixed conditions are also predicted for the weekend.

"Very, very difficult. We don’t have a lot of time, so you need to double up. You need to make sure you get as much information from both cars. You need to do the whole session. If it’s wet, then that really helps your learning. But in terms of fine-tuning the car, it’s highly unlikely we’re going to fully optimise it during this weekend. It'll probably be something we’re optimising over the next few weekends," he concluded.