Lewis Hamilton has revealed that Ferrari's straight-line speed deficit to Formula 1 rival Mercedes remains “considerable” despite the introduction of an upgraded engine at the Italian Grand Prix. Ferrari has trailed Mercedes in engine performance all season, but the team was hopeful that a second permitted upgrade via F1's Additional Upgrade and Development Opportunities (ADUO) system would help close the gap and boost their victory hopes at Monza.
However, the seven-time world champion claimed that Ferrari was losing up to six tenths of a second to Mercedes' George Russell on the straights alone during Friday practice. “Straight-line speed, it’s considerable,” Hamilton, who ended the day fifth fastest and nearly half a second behind pacesetter Russell, replied when asked about Ferrari's main limitation on Friday.
“Just looking at the deltas just there, I was losing something like six tenths to George just in the straights, which is something we need to look into. And then just balance. It was really, really hard to pull a lap out of the car. The car was not an easy one to drive in P2 for some reason. We made a couple of changes, but shouldn't have really been [that] bad. So we might revert, but we're going to look and see if we can get a better feeling,” Hamilton added.
Asked if the issue is purely power-related or could be solved by reducing downforce, Hamilton explained that they need to investigate whether it's a drag issue or deployment strategy. “The engine is an improvement, which I'm really grateful for the guys back at the factory for working on. But our deployment schedule is different to the others, our competitors. It seems like they maybe have less drag for the straights, so it's something we need to definitely look at tonight,” he said.
Despite his concerns, Hamilton stressed that Ferrari's upgraded power unit is a step forward. “The engine is really nice to drive within the low speed, there's only a couple low-speed here. But that's not been a problem, they've done a great job with that,” he added. Fred Vasseur, Ferrari team principal, echoed Hamilton's early assessment. “You have to keep in mind that performance in the straight line, it's the drag, it's the weight of the car, it's everything. It's not just the engine and did a step for sure. We didn't bring PU2 for nothing, but I think we still have a decent gap [to Mercedes],” he explained.
Hamilton, who is aiming to claim a famous first win at Monza as a Ferrari driver, said he will be aiming to benefit from a slipstream in qualifying. “The tow is everything here, so likely to be looking for the tow,” he concluded.
Baca Juga
Red Bull mengakui masalah keseimbangan pada mobil setelah keluhan radio Max Verstappen di GP Italia. Pierre Wache menjelaskan tantangan yang dihadapi tim di Monza.
Ferrari menghadapi dilema di Monza: menambah kecepatan di trek lurus atau memperbaiki keseimbangan SF-26 yang dikeluhkan Hamilton, sementara Mercedes masih memimpin.
Charles Leclerc memulai GP Italia di Monza dengan memimpin FP1 dan P2 di FP2. Ia mengaku tahu kelemahan SF-26 dan fokus memperbaikinya.
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