If Lewis Hamilton does not win the drivers’ title this year in his dominant Mercedes, a clue as to why he failed might prove to have come in a talk he had with journalists before the European Grand Prix in Baku on June 19.
The previous Sunday, he had triumphed in the Canadian Grand Prix, and two weeks before that, he had won the Monaco Grand Prix. In three races, he had reduced the 45-point lead of Nico Rosberg, his teammate, to just nine points, and for the first time in the season, Hamilton appeared to have regained his full confidence.
He even revealed to the media that he had not prepared to race on the new tight, fast circuit through the streets of Baku with the same diligence as the other drivers had on the simulators at their team factories.
Photo: AP
“I did eight laps,” Hamilton said. “And I had learned it already. It took me five or six to learn it, and then I already did the best lap time, and I couldn’t beat it after that.”
That same day, several other drivers said they had driven at least 10 times as many laps as Hamilton on the simulator.
Sebastian Vettel, the only driver still racing in the series who has won more drivers’ titles than Hamilton’s three — Vettel has four — said he had driven nearly 100 laps on a simulator.
Formula One teams have used simulators as a regular part of car and driver development for the past decade and a half. First among them, the McLaren team began developing a simulator in the late 1990s, partly because the team understood that Ferrari had an advantage with its own test track near its team factory in Italy.
However, it took years before other teams — including Ferrari — followed McLaren’s lead. That happened when teams began to face testing restrictions imposed by the International Automobile Federation as a cost-cutting measure.
All the teams quickly began developing simulators and using their own software to mimic track and car functions. The concept originated in the aviation industry, where flight simulators have long been used to develop flying skills and aircraft.
Formula One teams are constantly developing their simulators to make the racing experience more realistic.
The driver sits in a cockpit that resembles that of a Formula One car. The cockpit is perched on hydraulic pylons programmed to replicate the sensations of driving around each track on the racing calendar, as the view on the screen proceeds along the track.
It is impossible to simulate the g-forces that are experienced in a real car, but padding can be inflated to push the driver’s sides to mimic the sensation of cornering.
In a simulator, the driver generally wears his helmet and racing clothes, communicates with engineers, receives instructions and comments on the sensations.
The driver even hears the sound of gearshift changes, as the simulator uses data collected by cars during races to mimic the entire experience.
However, Hamilton said these costly and advanced technological tools were nothing, but “a souped-up PlayStation.”
“The simulator is not very good,” he said. “It’s a very bad computer game, basically.”
Formula One teams spend vast amounts of time and money developing and using simulators to train new drivers and help regular drivers. Most teams also use test drivers to operate them.
Gary Paffett, a Briton who raced successfully in several series and test-drove Formula One cars from 2001 to 2013, was hired this season by the Williams team to focus solely on driving the simulator.
“His level of testing knowledge and ability to analyze data will significantly help to drive forward development of the FW38 throughout the season,” deputy team principal Claire Williams said, referring to the Williams car.
However, in Hamilton’s opinion, the simulator will never help a driver.
“There is a difference between driving a simulator and driving the real thing — no emotion,” he said. “When you get in a simulator, you have to adjust yourself to the simulator. When you get in a Formula One car, you don’t have to adjust to anything, you just drive it. When you get in a simulator, you have to adjust all of your feelings because you don’t get the same feelings, you don’t get the movement, you don’t get the same bumps.”
“You drive the same track the day before, and then on the Monday, you drive the track on the simulator and the bumps aren’t there, the curbs are different, the speed is different, you don’t feel the speed, you don’t feel the physicality,” he added.
Since Hamilton won his third drivers’ title at the US Grand Prix in October last year, some observers have suggested that he has lost a bit of the edge that is needed to regularly win Formula One races.
He has been accused of partying too much and of spending too much time on personal activities.
However, as he continued to score pole positions, other observers argued that if he could party at night and succeed by his natural talent the next day, then why not?
Meanwhile, Rosberg won the final three races last season and the first four this year.
However, in May, Hamilton and Rosberg bumped each other off the track on the first lap at the Spanish Grand Prix, leaving Max Verstappen to win the race.
Hamilton’s Monaco and Canada triumphs followed, and he finally appeared to be regaining his edge.
At the European Grand Prix, Hamilton, who had dismissed the need for diligent preparation for the new track, made a mess of qualifying, making a bad choice and crashing into a wall.
He then struggled through the race and found himself with problems on his engine settings, which is something drivers practice in the simulator.
And while Hamilton finished fifth in Baku, Vettel, who had spent the most time practicing on the simulator, finished second. Rosberg won the race.
“Hamilton seems less applied and involved than he was in the past,” said Franck Montagny, a former driver and a commentator on French TV. “In Baku, he seemed to arrive having decided not to use the simulator and relying on his talent alone.”
“Hamilton is probably faster than Rosberg, but he doesn’t work as hard,” Montagny added.
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