Why Lewis Hamilton F1 superpower imitation means Ferrari transfer won’t cost Mercedes

Thumbnail for article regarding Hamilton on Friday in Belgium — Photo: © IMAGO

Mercedes

Why Lewis Hamilton SUPERPOWER imitation means Ferrari transfer won’t cost Mercedes

The seven-time world champion felt hard done by after finishing second

Daniel Austin

Wednesday 31 July 2024 22:00

When he finally crossed the line only a second ahead of Lewis Hamilton and Oscar Piastri, George Russell’s short-lived Belgian Grand Prix victory was appeared as well-deserved as it was utterly unexpected.

That was, of course, before the stewards stepped in post-race and disqualified Russell for having an underweight car. Though Hamilton eventually inherited the win thanks to Russell's infraction hours after the finish, the way the race panned out and the reaction afterward provided an interesting insight into the Hamilton-less future of Mercedes.

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Russell thought he had scored his third Formula 1 win by delivering arguably his most impressive ever drive, producing a stunning, lengthy final stint on hard tyres to make a one-stop strategy work far better than any of his rivals imagined was possible.

Team-mate Hamilton had controlled the race from early on after stealing second place from Sergio Perez into Eau Rouge with a stellar start, before passing Ferrari's Charles Leclerc and building up a commanding lead.

Hamilton was clearly disappointed with what was at first a second-place finish

What did Hamilton say after the Belgian GP?

The seven-time world champion was clearly furious in the cooldown room afterward, and felt the team’s decision-making had cost him a 105th F1 victory.

“It felt great to get in the lead and obviously it was a bit of a shock at the end,” the seven-time world champion said.

“George wasn’t really in my race for most of it, and if the strategy had been done right he wouldn’t have been [at the end]. But it means that at the we have cars that are competing. It is what it is, I’ll move forward into summer and have a great time.”

Discussing the battle for the win in the final few laps, Hamilton said: “I was trying to get closer, but George did a great job going longer on the tires. Every stint I had tires left but the team brought me in. Unfortunate but it’s one of those days.”

Hamilton is right that strategy cost him, and that he could comfortably have carried on with his own set of hard tires he was using after his first pit stop – the hard rubber which clearly faster than the medium and suffering very little degradation, as demonstrated by Carlos Sainz who went long on his hards at the start.

Russell's smart thinking sees his cross the line first

This was not the case of the team making error. Instead, Russell played a masterstroke.

“Think about the one stop!”, Russell demanded on the team radio on Lap 26, 18 tours from the end as those ahead of him began stopping for the final time. Mercedes listened and implemented a strategy they never planned to opt for, their decision justified by Russell’s impressive less times which were slower than those who had stopped for fresh hards but not by a huge margin.

“Amazing result!” Russell said afterward. “Definitely didn’t predict this result this morning in our strategy meeting, but the car was feeling really awesome. The tires just felt great and I kept saying ‘I think we can do the one stop’. The strategy did a great job. A one-two for the team is an awesome result.

“We rolled the dice but it was only possible because the car was feeling really great and the pace was there.

George Russell initially claimed victory in Spa

It was, then, Russell who initially won the race for himself by concentrating on maximising his own pace, taking ownership of the situation, and making a calculated risk work pristinely.

Hamilton is right that his hard tires still had pace in them when he stopped for a fresh set, covering off the likes of Leclerc who had already come in for the final time, but the same knowledge and power rested in his hands - he could potentially have made the same call as Russell and turned a one-stop into victory.

Rather than a weakness on the part of Mercedes’ strategists, this was an outcome entirely dictated by the wisdom and efficiency of Russell, who eschewed worries about what those around him were doing and demonstrated the kind of team leadership which has been Hamilton’s superpower in his glorious era of success with Mercedes.

How much the weight transgression on Russell's car contributed to his successful strategy is unclear; perhaps he would not have fended off his pursuers with a legal car.

Lewis Hamilton ended up with the win in Spa

This would have been the first British one-two at Spa in 59 years, and Mercedes boss Toto Wolff was effusive in his praise of Russell’s growing maturity after the chequered flag fell.

“The tire whisperer,” Wolff called Russell over the radio, before adding in a post-race interview: “George had nothing to lose. The one stop and the two stop were showing P5 so we left him out. He was very good today. George is very strong – he is stepping up and that’s good.”

Tire management and leadership have been the key tenets of Hamilton’s time with the Silver Arrows, and Russell’s occasional tendency to make errors when fighting at the very front of the field (like in Canada a few rounds ago) suggested Mercedes may well miss those qualities when Hamilton departs for Ferrari at the end of the season.

But in Belgium Russell demonstrated that he made a significant step toward filling Hamilton’s shoes as team leader – he can make quick decisions under pressure, convince the team to back him, and deliver the result by the end of the race.

With a car that is now often capable of challenging for race wins, and a driver who seems increasingly capable of directing the team, it seems all will not be lost for Mercedes once Hamilton goes from friend to foe.

Red Bull Lewis Hamilton Mercedes George Russell Oscar Piastri Belgian Grand Prix