Lewis Hamilton/Ferrari: The decisive advantage in the battle against Mercedes?

Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc are giving the Tifosi something to dream about: with the Englishman winning in Barcelona and the Monegasque driver triumphing at Silverstone, Ferrari has won two of the last three races – and naturally this is fuelling the hopes of loyal Ferrari fans that things are finally moving in the right direction when it comes to the World Championship title.

It’s about bloody time, too: the last World Championship title won by a Ferrari driver? Kimi Räikkönen in 2007. The last Constructors’ World Championship title: 2008.

But Lewis Hamilton, currently third in the championship, is dampening the Tifosi’s expectations. Ahead of the Belgian Grand Prix, the most successful Formula 1 driver stated: “When it comes to the power unit, there’s not much we drivers can do. It’s up to our engine specialists to squeeze more out of the hybrid system.”

“We can see that Mercedes is getting more out of the power unit in terms of battery performance. So we need to step up our game there.”

“What Charles and I can do, however, is provide the engineers with as much information as possible about what we need behind the wheel. Throttle response, gear changes, gear ratios – that’s where we can make a difference. And we’re constantly pushing for improvements, which we then test in the race simulator.”

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The big plus point, according to Lewis: “Our reliability – the Mercedes drivers have had more concerns about that than I have so far.”

And that is precisely where the 106-time Grand Prix winner senses what could be a decisive advantage: “It takes months to design and build certain parts to ensure reliability. We have a robust car and a reliable engine. We can build on that.”