The reasons behind Hamilton's cryptic radio message to Melbourne

Fighting for the podium with his teammate George Russell, Lewis Hamilton did not seem comfortable with the strategy operated by his team during the last stint of the Australian Grand Prix. Without context, we could only hear the Briton castigating his race engineer, Peter Bonnington, arguing that he had been placed “in a bad position”. The little sentence which could also be compared to bad luck linked to his pit stop before the arrival of the safety car – which may have cost him the podium in the end – did nothing of the sort. Thanks to in-depth listening to the Hamilton radios and the debriefing provided by James Vowles, we immediately understand the situation better.

The need to cool the engine

Because beyond a potential podium that Hamilton could acquire thanks to Russell in the last laps, the seven-time world champion had to save himself. Or rather relieve its power unit and its engine. The ambient temperature in Melbourne, two degrees higher than what his team had predicted the day before, pushed the driver Mercedes to achieve lift and cost (deceleration before the braking point) in order to collect more fresh air and relieve its power unit, to the limit of overheating.

“This decision is made on Saturday, but we obviously race on Sunday, 24 hours later, specifies James Volwes, chief strategist of the team in the weekly Mercedes debriefing video. And in this situation, the ambient temperature was one, maybe two degrees higher than we expected. And so, we were, not only us, it was the case in the other teams as well, at the limit of what the engine and the power unit can support in terms of cooling.

And in racing, when you follow a car, that meant that Lewis had to compromise, he had to move away from the dirty air that the car in front of him was producing. – George Russell therefore – and making sure he had enough cool, clean air in the radiators to bring the engine temperature down, but doing that makes racing against the car in front incredibly difficult, and that's why his message came . »

Despite its difficulties, Mercedes appeared to show valuable improvements in the understanding and performance of its temperamental W13, once again maximizing points at the finish. Unlike its predecessors, especially Red Bull, car from the German team seems reliable. Above all, it allows us to gain valuable points for the rest of the season, and to place second in the manufacturers' standings – 39 points behind Ferrari all the same. A feat at this stage and a performance which tends to satisfy Toto wolff, the boss of the stable:

“We are leaving Melbourne in a better state than when we arrived: more lessons learned, more data to analyze and more points in the standings, he details. It is clear that we do not yet have the pace to challenge Ferrari and Red Bull, but we know where we have to look for performance.

Seeing Lewis and George performing at such a high level today, with a tool that is clearly not on the pace of the leaders, is another example of the spirit of this team. We are optimistic but realistic about the timetable for improvement and the advantage our competitors have, but a third and fourth place finish helps us leave Australia with a good feeling. »

The next destination, Imola – from April 22 to 24 – could be the scene of the first improvements for the different teams on the grid, since it is the first event on European soil. We already know that Ferrari will not be there, but the Italian round could still reveal some surprises. To the point of already disrupting the order of the grid?

Not the result he wanted, but a sporting display as ever from @LewisHamilton after the race 👍#AusGP #F1 pic.twitter.com/bWY7Wx5QeF

— Formula 1 (@F1) April 11, 2022