Lewis Hamilton has voiced his frustration over Method 1’s rising reliance on software program, arguing that drivers are being unfairly penalised by advanced power administration programs quite than being rewarded for uncooked tempo.
Talking to Neil deGrasse Tyson on the StarTalk podcast through the Miami Grand Prix weekend, the seven-time champion make clear the challenges offered by the collection’ technical laws.
“It is actually onerous for followers to totally perceive it, and it is onerous for us to know it as a result of the final word aim whenever you’re driving a Method 1 automobile is to push the automobile to the restrict,” the Ferrari driver defined.
“The sooner you are taking a nook, hopefully you have to be up in your time in comparison with others. And proper now, with what we now have, as a result of we now have a restricted quantity of battery, whenever you’re off energy, you are charging the battery, whenever you’re on energy, you are utilizing energy.”
Nonetheless, on account of restricted battery capability and the need of charging, drivers are dealing with counterintuitive eventualities.
“We now have much less cost this yr as a result of they took away the MGU-H that we had final yr, which is just too complicated. So, mainly, for those who take the high-speed quick, for those who’re extra dedicated and you are taking extra danger and also you go sooner by means of a nook, you get penalised afterwards since you do not cost sufficient.”
Lewis Hamilton, Ferrari
Picture by: Madring
He added: “Like yesterday, I used to be shedding three-tenths of a second simply because the software program wasn’t doing its job. I did not know till I got here again to my engineers. I used to be like, ‘I am sorry, I am sluggish,’ they usually’re like, ‘You are not sluggish, the software program wasn’t working.’ In order that’s an actual frustration as a result of again within the day, they did not have that. We’d like much less.”
After the primary 9 rounds of the 2026 season, Hamilton sits third within the drivers’ championship behind chief Kimi Antonelli and the Italian’s Mercedes team-mate George Russell.
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