Hamilton questions 'the point' of Spanish GP track changes
Hamilton questions 'the point' of Spanish GP track changes
Lewis Hamilton has questioned 'what the point' of the new turn 10 configuration at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya is after topping Friday practice for the Spanish Grand Prix.
The radius at the corner has been softened into a faster, more sweeping left-hander more reminiscent of the layout used pre-2004 compared to the tight hairpin used in recent years.
After completing the first day of running on the revised layout, the seven-time world champion suggested racing will be affected by the change.
"I don’t really understand what the point was of the corner," said Hamilton. "It’s a lot, lot faster but I’ve not been in a racing position scenario so I can’t tell you if it will be better for racing or not.
“The one before was a dead stop. That was one other spot that you could potentially overtake but the straight was too short so I don’t know.
"Maybe it will allow us to follow closer during that last section and if it does that means we can race better down the main straight.”
Hamilton led a Mercedes one-two in the afternoon session in Spain but was six-tenths faster than Max Verstappen after his championship rival made a mistake on his qualifying simulation.
Despite the apparent ease with which Hamilton set his lap time, he revealed the difficulty of working the W12 into its operating window.
"We’ve had to work at it. It never comes that easy and I don’t think with this car it is ever going to be the case," he added.
“But we understand the car and we know which direction we need to go balance-wise so we have made some tweaks along the way.
"I don’t know if it got better for this session necessarily but there were some findings there so I’m hoping to have a better set up for tomorrow.”
Related
Change your timezone:
Latest News
F1 News Today: Incredible Verstappen exit clause reignites F1 rival talks as Mercedes milestone reveals shock RED livery
- 1 hour ago
Horner outlines Ricciardo target to save F1 dream as major Newey announcement made - GPFans F1 Recap
- Yesterday 23:57
Mercedes reveal shock RED livery to celebrate historic milestone
- Yesterday 22:57
Ricciardo makes five-race admission in bid to survive F1 axe
- Yesterday 21:57
Red Bull is 'burning' after Horner and Marko display
- Yesterday 20:57
Red Bull announce strong statement over Newey departure claims
- Yesterday 19:57
Related news
Mercedes reveal shock RED livery to celebrate historic milestone
Verstappen 'to meet Mercedes over SHOCK 2025 move as Red Bull exit clause revealed'
BLOW for former F1 champion as Mercedes preferences revealed
Incredible statistic puts Verstappen AHEAD of Hamilton record
F1 Standings
Drivers
- Oliver Bearman
- Charles Leclerc
- Carlos Sainz
- Lando Norris
- Oscar Piastri
- Pierre Gasly
- Esteban Ocon
- Sergio Pérez
- Max Verstappen
- Alexander Albon
- Logan Sargeant
- Lewis Hamilton
- George Russell
- Nico Hülkenberg
- Kevin Magnussen
- Fernando Alonso
- Lance Stroll
- Valtteri Bottas
- Zhou Guanyu
- Daniel Ricciardo
- Yuki Tsunoda
Races
- Gulf Air Grand Prix of Bahrain 2024
- Saudi Arabian Grand Prix 2024
- Grand Prix of Australia 2024
- MSC Cruises Grand Prix of Japan 2024
- Grand Prix of China 2024
- Miami Grand Prix 2024
- Gran Premio dell'Emilia Romagna 2024
- Grand Prix of Monaco 2024
- Grand Prix du Canada 2024
- Gran Premio de España 2024
- Grand Prix of Austria 2024
- Grand Prix of Great Britain 2024
- Grand Prix of Hungary 2024
- Grand Prix of Belgium 2024
- Heineken Dutch Grand Prix 2024
- Grand Prix of Italy 2024
- Grand Prix of Azerbaijan 2024
- Grand Prix of Singapore 2024
- Grand Prix of the United States 2024
- Gran Premio de la Ciudad de Mexico 2024
- Grande Prêmio de São Paulo 2024
- Heineken Silver Las Vegas Grand Prix 2024
- Qatar Grand Prix 2024
- Grand Prix of Abu Dhabi 2024
About GPFans
GPFans is a multi-platform, multi-language brand dedicated to Formula One coverage. We bring you all the ins and outs of the sport, 24/7, everything from up-to-the-minute news and features to the latest viral stories and clips.We believe that a new generation of exciting, outspoken drivers will make F1 more popular than ever before, and we want to give our users access to as much of their heroes as possible, on and off the track. From Lewis Hamilton to Max Verstappen, Daniel Ricciardo to Sebastian Vettel, we provide in-depth analysis of every every Grand Prix in the season, from Australia to Abu Dhabi.
With Formula One under the new ownership of Liberty Media, how the sport is being covered is evolving, and GPFans will look to be at the heart of this progression into new media, as one of the fastest-growing sites covering the king of motorsports.
Follow us on your favorite social media channel
Corporate & Media
Innovatieweg 20C7007 CD, Doetinchem, Netherlands
+31645516860