Ferrari’s response to Lewis Hamilton simulator snub revealed by ex-engineer

Ferrari team members reportedly “shrugged their shoulders” when quizzed on Lewis Hamilton’s announcement that he would not use Ferrari’s simulator again as it is “too risky”.

Frustrated that his pre-race preparations weren’t translating into results on the track, Hamilton stated in Miami that Ferrari’s simulator was “not helping” him, with the car feeling “different” on the track.

Lewis Hamilton simulator decision prompts Ferrari reaction

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He decided not to use it in the build-up to the Canadian Grand Prix and went on to put in his most impressive performance of the season.

The seven-time world champion secured his best result as a Ferrari driver as he finished runner-up in the grand prix, taking the chequered flag 30 seconds ahead of his teammate Charles Leclerc.

Hamilton admitted that he is unlikely to return to the simulator to help with race preparation as he’d rather go old school.

“Whether or not I use it to prepare for another race? Probably not,” he said. “There are just too many risks.

“If you look at the two best races I’ve had, I didn’t use a simulator and that’s honestly how it was.

“Pretty much all the championships before, except for probably 2008, I didn’t use the sim, so it’s not a necessity.

“It’s a tool that can be powerful, but, for me, I’m old school. I’m probably better without it.”

His claim, though, was questioned by former Ferrari race engineer Rob Smedley.

According to the 52-year-old, while Ferrari has taken Hamilton’s decision on the chin, he doesn’t believe the driver can base his decision solely on one good race result.

“I spoke to a couple of guys there who kind of shrugged their shoulders when I asked about it,” he told the High Performance Racing podcast.

“He said that he didn’t – he refused to go and do his work on the simulator pre-Canada. And that’s what gave him the freedom because he had a notion that the simulator was perhaps dragging him in directions that he didn’t like.

“So he said, ‘I’m not going to do it this time.’

“And then, of course, he has a sample size of one.

“All of a sudden, it’s statistically true that if you don’t go on the simulator, you’re on the podium.”

After all, said former Alpine team principal Otmar Szafnauer, what is to say Hamilton wouldn’t have won if he had done pre-race preparations in the simulator.

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“It’s not a controlled experiment,” he said. “Had I gone on the simulator, would I have won the race? Not saying you would, but it’s not a controlled experiment.

Asked if the simulator was actually more important with the new cars and the energy deployment, Szafnauer replied: “I was talking to one of the Alpine engineers and it dawned on me how sensitive what you do and how you manage the power train is now compared to what it used to be.”

Smedley added: “It’s massive. Everyone you talk to up and down the pit lane.

“It’s very sensitive, it’s very, very critical in terms of management. So the simulator is very helpful, but you also need all of it.

“You can rehearse a certain situation as much as you want, but it’s the edge cases that catch you out. So you need to have a really good understanding.”

Hamilton is fourth in the Drivers’ Championship on 72 points, three behind Leclerc, and 59 down on championship leader Kimi Antonelli.

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