The small details where Hamilton can make the difference for Mercedes

There is no getting away from the fact that Lewis Hamilton’s difficult 2022 Formula 1 season hit a fresh low at the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix. On a weekend not helped by track characteristics (both surface and layout) that exacerbated porpoising problems, plus cooler temperatures that did not suit the Mercedes with its tyre warm up issues, the final nail in the coffin came when he was lapped by Max Verstappen in the race.

After his Mercedes team boss Toto Wolff came on the radio straight after the race to apologise for the undriveable car he had been given, Hamilton was clear about one point in his response: “Let’s keep working hard”.

It is all too easy to think that for a driver in Hamilton’s position, so used to being given race-winning machinery and then suddenly thrust to squabbling in the pack, that there is little they can do until their team delivers a better package. But in fact, while some are suggesting that Hamilton’s frustrations will boil over if Mercedes doesn’t get its act together quickly, the reality is that the seven-time champion himself has as critical a role to play in that recovery as every other team member.

While he may not have the engineering expertise that is needed to work out exactly what mechanical tweaks will allow the W13 to run in the right ride-height window, he can help to invigorate and motivate the people sorting those things out.

It is an element that veteran motorsport and F1 race engineer Julien Simon-Chautemps understands incredibly well from the 14 years he spent in grand prix racing, working with a host of drivers, including Kimi Raikkonen, Romain Grosjean, Jolyon Palmer and Marcus Ericsson. Simon-Chautemps stepped away from Alfa Romeo and a full-time role in F1 at the end of last season, deciding that Raikkonen’s retirement was the perfect moment for him to move on and do something else.

Now, having set up his own consultancy, JSC7 Engineering, alongside work as an expert pundit for French channel Canal+, he has some fascinating insights into the critical relationship between driver and teams and says it’s the personal working aspect that can be so crucial.

Knowing how much time Hamilton is committing to chatting to his team members on video calls, and being at the Mercedes factory between races, Simon-Chautemps says the impact made by that personal contact cannot be underestimated.

Julien Simon-Chautemps has recently departed Alfa Romeo to become a consultant

Photo by: Alfa Romeo

“It's important, especially for a driver at the level of Lewis,” he says. “They have a crucial part to play in driving the team in a certain direction.

“Ultimately, they are the one driving and the public face of the team and it's very important that they come to the factory, they talk to the technical director, and they talk to the team principal, but also the other employees who are working tirelessly to produce the car. Honestly, a quick chat here or a joke there with the factory staff can give such a boost to the staff that are under sometimes enormous pressure.’

“Talking is really important, rather than just putting things down in a 200-page report and sending it off. Explaining things, and why certain items need changing, instead of just being written down, has a totally different impact, and the driver being there in person opens up the opportunity for others to ask questions, get clarity on comments etc.

"To work in F1 is a privilege, but it is hard work and long hours and those working in it are usually big F1 fans. So a kind word, or even a gesture of recognition, can really motivate individuals" Julien Simon-Chautemps

“That's why it is fundamental they are there, and they explain face-to-face their problems, and why they want the changes they have demanded. It could be a set-up; it could be something on the car...even simple things.

“Kimi was very particular for example with his kit. Even a little stitch out of place in his glove and he would need it rectifying immediately. But, on the other hand, the guy is driving at 300km/h, so he doesn't want to feel uncomfortable. The driver’s focus needs to be on racing and racing alone. Kimi had a knowledge of the car that was incredible and that feedback was vital.”

The bond that Hamilton has built up with his race engineer Peter Bonnington is well known, and for Simon-Chautemps, a relationship that appears so close is hugely important.

“It's fundamental and not only in F1,” he said. “It is interesting for me because in one area of my new business I'm now acting as CTO in Formula 4, where I started 20 years ago, with the French Team Sainteloc, who recently created a new single seater operation. And with the knowledge I have gained, it is absolutely fascinating.

Team morale can be hugely impacted by the driver in question

Photo by: Steve Etherington / Motorsport Images

“The young engineers and mechanics I am working with are getting a crash course I don’t think they were expecting, but they are flourishing and it’s great that I can now pass on this knowledge to engineers who are just starting out. The role of the race engineer is evolving, but it is critical to have a close relationship with a driver, because then you reach a point where the driver just looks at you, and you see his body gesture, and you almost know what they want.

“Very often in the past we have seen people, especially with Kimi, like in Ferrari, where he did not have the best of relationships, and it doesn’t work. With Marcus, I’m still on the phone regularly, and with Jolyon [Palmer], and Romain. I always had an extremely good relationship, or friendship, with the drivers. I had them coming to my house and meeting my kids, and that's very important because it's an old story: work hard, but have fun together: it's fundamental for the job.”

It is also fascinating to hear that even something as mundane as the driver interacting with factory staff can make such a difference.

“It's very important for me that the driver shows his face at the factory,” he says. “If you take an average team of 1000 people, then if the driver never goes to the factory, he will never see 80 percent of the team. And that means at least 80 percent of the team will never see their driver, who is ultimately the guy driving their car and the face of the team.

“All the time when I was in F1, if I had Kimi or another driver coming to the factory, people were coming to my desk and giving me things to sign. That’s how important the drivers are. To work in F1 is a privilege, but it is hard work and long hours and those working in it are usually big F1 fans. So a kind word, or even a gesture of recognition, can really motivate individuals.

“You should see the expression on the faces on these young engineers or mechanics when they see the drivers. It motivates them as they know exactly who they are working for.”

Ultimately, Mercedes’ answer for the porpoising and the engineering changes needed to cure it are something that will come from within its factory. And for Simon-Chautemps, who has experienced plenty of highs and lows in his F1 career, he understands that it must be hard for a successful team like Mercedes to face up to such a different challenge in plotting a fightback.

Simon-Chautemps says Mercedes must work to avoid finger-pointing and remain unified in its efforts at recovery

Photo by: Alfa Romeo

“Especially for Mercedes, after having won all these years, it must be an extremely difficult situation,” he explains. “It can become very easy to have what we call in the business: the finger pointing mentality. It can be that some in a team think the set-up is perfect, but the engine is bad, or the gearbox is at fault. It becomes a finger pointing culture.

"You are often fire-fighting and there are always problems, and all these things you haven't planned for keep appearing. It must be an extremely difficult time for Mercedes, but I hope they will get back at the front" Julien Simon-Chautemps

“There are teams better at it than others, and I have always heard that Mercedes are really good at avoiding this kind of mentality. However, it's easy to avoid it when you win all the time. When you are at the back, it is not like you're working less as you're actually working more.

“You are often fire-fighting and there are always problems, and all these things you haven't planned for keep appearing. It must be an extremely difficult time for Mercedes, but I hope they will get back at the front.”

But it’s also the very kind of difficult situation where a driver is needed even more than if he is given a dominant car to roll out the wins on a Sunday afternoon.

Hamilton faces a difficult task to turn the ship around

Photo by: Steve Etherington / Motorsport Images