Damon Hill said ‘my heart was in my mouth’ watching Ferrari star Lewis Hamilton in qualifying for the Miami Grand Prix over one of his ‘issues’ since quitting Mercedes.
The 40-year-old is contesting his sixth round with the Scuderia so far in Florida this weekend after Hamilton left Mercedes to join Ferrari. It was the realisation of his childhood dream for the Briton to drive for the pride of Italy, but his first season in red has not always been rosy.
Even Ferrari think Hamilton is performing well below their expectations, having failed to earn a Grand Prix podium finish to date. His best feature race result so far this season came in the Bahrain Grand Prix when Hamilton recovered from only qualifying in ninth to seal fifth place.
Damon Hill thinks Lewis Hamilton is struggling to change his braking style at Ferrari after leaving Mercedes
F1 Sprint sessions have instead yielded his top-two results for the Scuderia yet, after Ferrari saw Hamilton win the Shanghai Sprint from pole position. He has even taken another Sprint podium this weekend, as Hamilton finished the Miami Sprint in P3 from only P7 on the grid.
But after capitalising on a blend of the mixed conditions, a bold strategy call and misfortune for other drivers in the F1 Sprint at the Miami Grand Prix, his qualifying for the feature race did not get off to the perfect start and also highlighted one of Hamilton’s ‘problems’ for Hill.
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Hill feels Hamilton is struggling to adapt how he braked at Mercedes since joining Ferrari as the Scuderia use Brembo brakes while the Silver Arrows ran Carbon Industrie brakes during his time there. A clear sign of this came when he lost 0.39s after locking up at Turn 17 in Q1.
Hill told BBC Radio 5 Sports Extra (3/5, 21:28): “This is one of the issues he’s had. He’s had problems with moving to Ferrari from Mercedes. They use a different braking manufacturer.
“So, his feel through the brakes, he’s had trouble getting out of the habit of braking the way he’s always been used to at Mercedes.”
Damon Hill saw Lewis Hamilton’s ‘mark of a champion’ in qualifying at the Miami Grand Prix
Turn 17 caught Hamilton out again at the end of Q2, as the Ferrari pilot locked up and would not advance into Q3 as a result of the time he lost. The seven-time F1 drivers’ championship winner ended qualifying for the Miami GP in P12, albeit just 0.058s off Charles Leclerc in P8.
It even marks his worst qualifying result for Ferrari to date as Hamilton had reached Q3 over each of his first five Grand Prix weekends with the Scuderia. But, despite his ultimate plight, Hill saw ‘the mark of a champion’ from Hamilton by making it out of Q1 with a last-gasp lap.
Hill added (03/05, 21:34): “He put pressure on himself and when he came back down the back straight and hit the brakes for the place he locked up [in] the previous run, my heart was in my mouth a little bit for him.
“He might have known that was the problem he had before. He’d have been praying he got it right, and he did, and that is the mark of a champion.”
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