‘New F1 cars more fun to drive’ than previous ...

Lewis Hamilton’s wealth of Formulation 1 expertise places him in the most effective place to evaluate the brand new technology of automobiles – and he’s having fun with what he’s driving up to now.

The seven-time F1 world champion is getting into the fifth main laws overhaul of his profession and has usually been vocal about which period of automotive he has most well-liked to race with, particularly after a gruelling expertise within the ground-effect interval of 2022-25.

Maybe this offers gas to Hamilton’s positivity over the brand new technology of F1 automobiles which made their official monitor debuts on the Barcelona shakedown this week, the place the British driver was readily available to check out Ferrari’s SF-26 following a filming day run at Fiorano after its launch final week.

Hamilton, who unofficially set the quickest lap of the shakedown with a 1m16.348s and contributed to Ferrari’s complete of 444 laps of the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya with team-mate Charles Leclerc, says the brand new F1 automobiles are extra satisfying to drive as they’re extra forgiving than the knife-edge stability that was a trademark of the ground-effect automobiles.

“The automotive technology is definitely just a little bit extra enjoyable to drive,” Hamilton advised F1 after the Barcelona shakedown. “It is oversteery and snappy and sliding, however it’s just a little bit simpler to catch. I might positively say extra satisfying.

“However we positively have work to do to enhance, in fact, like everyone does. However I feel we have had nice debriefs. Everybody’s actually on it. I actually really feel the profitable mentality, like, in each single individual within the group greater than ever. So it is a optimistic.”

Hamilton’s feedback adopted an upbeat evaluation of Ferrari’s shakedown programme, which included the weird plan to run in moist circumstances on Tuesday. Crimson Bull was the one group to hitch Ferrari on monitor as soon as rain arrived, however the British driver was desirous to expertise the SF-26 within the moist, having had the “very laborious” studying curve of his first wet-weather motion in a Ferrari being in final yr’s Australian Grand Prix.

“It has been a very satisfying week, truthfully. I feel an enormous quantity of labor over the winter on my aspect, however then what the group has executed over the winter to make adjustments going into the take a look at [is positive],” he defined.

“A little bit of an uncommon begin to the week once we examined and had a whole moist day, which was not one thing you’d usually go for, however final yr I went to the primary race and the Sunday of the particular race was the primary time I had pushed the Ferrari, and that was a really laborious race. So it was good to have that have and get that data.

“After which simply to see the mileage that we have been in a position to get the final couple of days, as a result of simply a lot nice work from all of the individuals again on the manufacturing unit, which I am actually grateful for as a result of having consistency, not having issues…

“After all, there’s at all times small issues, however we did not actually have any downtime moments, whereas I am positive maybe they may probably come up within the subsequent weeks, however in any other case it is a actually, actually strong couple of days.

“After which by way of simply understanding the automotive and the steadiness, we have now lots much less downforce than earlier years.”

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– The Motorsport.com Group