Formula 1 chiefs forced teams to develop new front wings ahead of Sunday’s Spanish Grand Prix but Lewis Hamilton believes that the money would’ve been better off going to charity
A bemused Lewis Hamilton claims that it was a ‘waste of money’ to force the teams to develop new front wings ahead of the Spanish Grand Prix. It was hoped that the eagerly-anticipated changes might help the likes of Hamilton’s Ferrari move closer to reigning Constructors’ champions and runaway leaders McLaren.
But it became evident after the first practice session on Friday that the changes hadn’t made much of an impact. Then in qualifying, McLaren completed a front-row lockout, as Oscar Piastri grabbed pole with team-mate British star Lando Norris right behind him.
Towards the end of last season, McLaren’s so-called flexi front wing prompted rivals Red Bull and Ferrari to seek clarification from Formula 1’s governing body, the FIA, over its design. In response, a 5mm reduction of permissible flex in the wings when tested by FIA chiefs has now been introduced ahead of Sunday’s Grand Prix in Barcelona.
But Hamilton, who went fifth fastest in qualifying, hasn’t seen the benefit. It has not made a difference,” the Ferrari star bemoaned. “It’s been a waste of money. It’s just wasted everyone’s money.
“Everyone’s wings still bend, it’s just half the bending, and everyone’s had to make new wings and spend more money to make these. It doesn’t make sense… I would have given that money to charity.”
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McLaren team principal Andrea Stella explained that his team never feared that the stricter tests flex tests would a ‘game-changer’, with Piastri and Norris also leading the Drivers’ Championship race. “The technical directive was a big talking point,” Stella told Sky Sports at the Circuit de Catalunya.
“It was quite immaterial. It was always going to be minor when you look at the numbers. It entertained to have this kind of debate but our simulations said everything was very small. We weren’t concerned from this point of view.”
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Hamilton was still happy with his own performance on Saturday, out-qualifying team-mate Charles Leclerc for only the second time this year. The seven-time world champion is now eyeing his first Grand Prix podium in the red of Ferrari after a frustrating first few months with his new team.
“Friday started off fun, but we had some problem with the floor in FP2 and I was losing a lot of downforce. But we fixed it for today and the car was much more drive-able, much more enjoyable,” Hamilton said.
“We clearly have made an improvement going into qualifying to get into Q3 when it’s so close and to be in the top five, I’m really happy with that.”
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The 40-year-old added: “I did get a bit of a long run yesterday [in practice] and it’s definitely going to be close between everybody. It’s amazing how close everybody is in qualifying and how half a tenth can put you from sixth down to 11th. That’s pretty mad.
“The long run is going to be challenging tomorrow for everybody. I think most people have mostly softs and one medium, Charles and a couple of other people have two mediums.
“Which tyres are the best? Which strategy is the best? We’ll see. They key is going to be getting a good start. My goal is to get a podium – I haven’t had a podium in God knows how long, so that’s my target for tomorrow.”
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