Commentators Karun Chandhok and David Croft believe the upcoming Canadian Grand Prix is a “critical” race weekend for Lewis Hamilton.
The seven-time world champion recently experienced what was arguably his most challenging race so far with Ferrari at the Spanish Grand Prix, where his performance in Barcelona fell considerably short of his teammate Charles Leclerc`s.
Although he secured a Sprint race win earlier in the season in China, Hamilton has yet to finish on the podium in a main Grand Prix race after nine rounds with Ferrari, while Leclerc has achieved three podium finishes.
Feeling disappointed after his Spanish GP result, Hamilton heads to Canada this week, the site of his first F1 win, hoping for a performance that can turn his season around.
Commentator Karun Chandhok noted that Hamilton seems to be struggling for consistency. “It`s starting to get a bit critical,” Chandhok stated. “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.” He pointed to fluctuating form, like a poor qualifying followed by a strong race in Imola, or being “a chunk behind Charles” in Monaco.
Chandhok added, “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…”
Following a difficult 2024 season where George Russell often had the edge over him at Mercedes, many hoped his high-profile move to Ferrari would revitalise his performance. However, this season has seen a similar trend.
Chandhok expressed concern for Hamilton`s situation. “If I was on the Lewis side of the garage, I would be concerned,” he said. “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.”
While acknowledging Hamilton`s skill (“I`m not disputing that he`s still got the ability… He`s able to win races, we saw that in China”), Chandhok stressed the need for Ferrari to find a consistent setup that suits him. “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 concluded. “He`s still having too many good days and bad days. The fluctuations are too much.”
Potential Morale Boost from Car Issue Explanation
Although Hamilton himself attributed the large performance gap to Leclerc in Spain to his own driving, Ferrari team principal Frederic Vasseur later indicated that a car problem affected Hamilton`s performance in the final part of the race.
Hamilton didn`t mention any car issues when speaking to the media after the race. Commentator David Croft suggested that understanding the technical problem could offer a psychological boost.
Croft described Hamilton`s mood after Spain as “so down”. He noted Vasseur`s comment about a car issue in the final stint: “Ferrari didn`t specified exactly what the issue was, but according to Fred Vasseur there was an issue with the car in the final stint, and that wasn`t helping him.” Croft felt that identifying a technical fault could be positive: “If there was something fundamentally wrong with the car, then I think that offers a morale boost to Lewis.”
Canada holds special significance for Hamilton, where he has secured seven victories and six pole positions (most recently winning in 2019). Croft believes the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve might be the ideal venue for the 40-year-old to regain form.
Croft emphasized the importance of the upcoming race: “I think the next race is quite critical for Lewis because Canada is a place he goes so well at. It`s a place he loves. He got his first pole and first win there.” He called it “Lewis Hamilton`s track” and warned that “If he has another down day, like you did in Barcelona, then there are issues.” However, he expressed confidence in Hamilton`s ability: “If anyone can do it and turn it around, the seven-time world champion that is Lewis Hamilton can definitely turn that around.”
Marcus Prine