Lewis Hamilton faces 'critical' test at Canadian GP as Ferrari 'concerns grow'

Daily Mirror

3 hours ago

Ferrari star Lewis Hamilton is approaching a "critical" point in his season with his new team after a difficult Spanish Grand Prix, according to Karun Chandhok. The seven-time world champion has had a tough start to life with the Prancing Horse after failing to secure a podium after nine races and there could now be "concerns creeping in", the former Team Lotus driver said.
Hamilton came sixth in Spain, while team-mate Charles Leclerc finished third, notching a trio of podium finishes and the Brit opted to blame himself for his underwhelming display and said he was at a loss over his tough day. He called it "the worst race I've experienced balance wise".
"Well what do you want me to say?" He told Sky Sports after the race. "I've had a really bad day and have nothing to say. It was a difficult day. There's nothing else to add to it. It was terrible. There's no point explaining it. It's not your fault. I just don't know what to say."
Hamilton will have a chance to turn things around at the Canadian Grand Prix this weekend but is under pressure to up his performance levels.
Former F1 star Chandhok - who also drove for HRT - said Hamilton was struggling for rhythm and consistency and that there could be "concern creeping in" over the British racer after being "comfortably" outperformed by Leclerc.
"It's starting to get a bit critical. We're coming into the second third of the season now, and he's not finding the rhythm. He's not finding consistency where week in, week out, he's in a happy place of the car.
"In Imola, he was woeful in qualifying, then suddenly the car's brilliant in the race. In Monaco, he wasn't quite there. He was a chunk behind Charles throughout. There's got to be a degree of concern creeping in. When you look at Spain, the fact that Charles overtook him and drove away from him quite comfortably, even before we go into the different tyres and stuff later on.
"If I was on the Lewis side of the garage, I would be concerned. We are nearly at halfway through the year now, we need to start understanding whether this a fundamental issue, that we need to change the direction of the set-up of the car.
"I'm not disputing that he's still got the ability. He clearly does. He's able to win races, we saw that in China, but they need to find a sweet spot for him, where every weekend he knows what he's got, and they haven't got that. He's still having too many good days and bad days. The fluctuations are too much."
There have been criticisms of Hamilton's car this season and team boss Fred Vasseur claimed there was an issue with the vehicle towards the end of the Spanish Grand Prix that impacted on his pace.
Vasseur has since backed the Brit and said he only needs to make small tweaks to get himself challenging for podiums once again this season.
"Hamilton is only missing the details," he said. "We are talking about hundredths, which in this balanced Formula 1 can make the difference between a first and a third row - between a good weekend and a less good one.
"But they remain details - understanding the car, setup, communication. It's normal when you change teams. Frustration? It's understandable."