F1 champion Lewis Hamilton compared to Daniel Ricciardo following star's AXING

Lewis Hamilton and Daniel Ricciardo look at one another — Photo: © IMAGO

F1 Superstars

Hamilton compared to Ricciardo following star's AXING

Lewis Hamilton has been compared to Daniel Ricciardo amid the Mercedes star's struggles

Originally written by Sheona Mountford. This version is a translation.

Friday 15 November 2024 23:59

Lewis Hamilton has been compared to axed Formula 1 star Daniel Ricciardo, after the Brit's period of dismal performances.

The seven-time world champion spun out of the race at the United States Grand Prix, before suffering a nightmare weekend in Brazil, qualifying down in 16th for the main race, and only finishing the two races in 10th and 11th respectively, picking up one point in a weekend that had 34 up for grabs.

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Ricciardo was replaced by youngster Liam Lawson at VCARB earlier this season, following his own period of poor form, being regularly outperformed by team-mate Yuki Tsunoda.

Hamilton is set to move to Ferrari in 2025, joining a team that currently look to be in with a chance of securing their first constructors' championship title since 2008.

Daniel Ricciardo was axed from F1 after the Singapore GP

Lewis Hamilton has struggled in his final season with Mercedes

Will Lewis Hamilton recover from his performance decline?

“Somebody asked me earlier, why has Lewis Hamilton gone off the boil and I honestly think this is a similar type of situation to the likes of Daniel Ricciardo in recent times, Checo Perez.

“I don’t think Daniel Ricciardo, Checo Perez or Lewis Hamilton have suddenly become bad drivers.

“I think the modern generation of cars are so specific, they’re so nuanced in the way that you get the performance out of them and in the case of those three drivers, it’s not suiting the driving style that they’re so used to, that’s ingrained within them that they have built their careers around.

Will Lewis Hamilton return to his race winning ways when he joins Ferrari?

“These cars require something very specific, both from a technical point of view when it comes to setting them up really low and stiff, but also in the way that you drive them and it’s not suiting those guys.

“They’re struggling to get the tyre temperature into the tyres and as soon as you don’t get that, as soon as you fall out of that window, the performance disappears.

“And when the performance disappears, you struggle to get tyre temperature back in and it’s this vicious cycle that you can’t get out of very easily.

“That’s what I think is happening to Lewis.”

Lewis Hamilton Ferrari Mercedes Daniel Ricciardo United States Grand Prix Brazil