Lewis Hamilton says 2019 Mercedes Formula 1 car harder to work with
Lewis Hamilton says the 2019 Mercedes Formula 1 car is harder to work with than its predecessor, despite the team starting the season with a trio of one-two finishes
Mercedes had a difficult start to last year in terms of extracting the most from its car, winning only one of the first three races and falling behind Ferrari in the world championship.
But despite the good results this year, Hamilton admits that the Mercedes W10 is still proving difficult to get the best out of.
"So far the car is a little bit harder to worth with this year, so it's definitely not easier," said Hamilton when asked if he thought the car was easy to work with.
Asked by Autosport to elaborate on how that manifests itself, Hamilton explained that a range of factors contributed to it and that teams always take time to get on top of the car early in the season.
"It's a combination of things, the tyre seems to be a little bit more complex this year than last year," said Hamilton.
"But at the beginning of every season we always struggle, everyone is trying to understand the different tyre windows you are in.
"The window of these tyres is even narrower than it has been in the past, which was pretty small before and is even smaller now.
"They keep putting up the pressures every weekend or every year so it gets harder and harder."
Hamilton added that he is confident Mercedes will get on top of the car as the season progresses given the early stages of a year are always a steep learning curve.
"With the car each year it's just trying to get the car to work on as many of the circuits for 21 grands prix," said Hamilton.
"So trying to find the balance is very, very difficult because there's never a perfect balance for each one, there's kind of an average balance that might work everywhere.
"But when the tyres then come into it and also the engine, it gets harder and harder.
"But as we get through the season we'll learn more and more and more, I think we've definitely lucked out at least in one race, which was in Bahrain, but we were pretty good in the race and the last race was obviously pretty spectacular for us."
Leclerc's Ferrari F1 team orders remind Hamilton of his 2007 season
McLaren F1 rookie Norris only rates start of season "six out of 10"
Diriyah E-Prix: Ticktum tops Friday practice from Buemi
Dan Ticktum topped the second Diriyah E-Prix free practice session with a 1m10.099s, seeing off a late challenge from 2015-16 Formula E champion Sebastien Buemi.
Toyota WRC boss Latvala plotting rally return
Toyota World Rally Championship boss Jari-Matti Latvala is plotting a competitive rally return with an outing behind the wheel of Toyota’s new Rally2 GR Yaris.
No Ferrari number one driver, but Vasseur won't hesitate to "take action"
New Ferrari Formula 1 boss Fred Vasseur says there will be no number one driver at the team this season, but he won't hesitate to "take action" if needed.
Aitken ends Williams F1 role to focus on sportscars
Jack Aitken has announced he and the Williams Formula 1 team have parted ways ahead of the 2023 season as he pursues a career in sportscar racing.
Why Vasseur relishes 'feeling the pressure' as Ferrari's F1 boss
OPINION: Fred Vasseur has spent only a few weeks as team principal for the Ferrari Formula 1 team, but is already intent on taking the Scuderia back to the very top. And despite it being arguably the most demanding job in motorsport, the Frenchman is relishing the challenge
The crucial tech changes F1 teams must adapt to in 2023
Changes to the regulations for season two of Formula 1's ground-effects era aim to smooth out last year’s troubles and shut down loopholes. But what areas have been targeted, and what impact will this have?
Are these the 50 quickest drivers in F1 history?
Who are the quickest drivers in Formula 1 history? LUKE SMITH asked a jury of experienced and international panel of experts and F1 insiders. Some of them have worked closely with F1’s fastest-ever drivers – so who better to vote on our all-time top 50? We’re talking all-out speed here rather than size of trophy cabinet, so the results may surprise you…
One easy way the FIA could instantly improve F1
OPINION: During what is traditionally a very quiet time of year in the Formula 1 news cycle, FIA president Mohammed Ben Sulayem has been generating headlines. He’s been commenting on massive topics in a championship that loves them, but also addressing necessary smaller changes too. Here we suggest a further refinement that would be a big boon to fans
How can McLaren keep hold of Norris?
Lando Norris is no longer the young cheeky-chappy at McLaren; he’s now the established ace. And F1's big guns will come calling if the team can’t give him a competitive car. Here's what the team needs to do to retain its prize asset
What difference did F1's fastest pitstops of 2022 make?
While a quick pitstop can make all the difference to the outcome of a Formula 1 race, most team managers say consistency is more important than pure speed. MATT KEW analyses the fastest pitstops from last season to see which ones – if any – made a genuine impact
When F1 ‘holiday’ races kept drivers busy through the winter
Modern Formula 1 fans have grown accustomed to a lull in racing during winter in the northern hemisphere. But, as MAURICE HAMILTON explains, there was a time when teams headed south of the equator rather than bunkering down in the factory. And why not? There was fun to be had, money to be made and reputations to forge…
What Porsche social media frenzy says about F1’s manufacturer allure
Porsche whipped up a frenzy thanks to a cryptic social media post last week and, although it turned out to be a false alarm, it also highlighted why manufacturers remain such an important element in terms of the attraction that they bring to F1. It is little wonder that several other manufacturers are bidding for a slice of the action
Subscribe and access Autosport.com with your ad-blocker.
From Formula 1 to MotoGP we report straight from the paddock because we love our sport, just like you. In order to keep delivering our expert journalism, our website uses advertising. Still, we want to give you the opportunity to enjoy an ad-free and tracker-free website and to continue using your adblocker.