Because the cockpit of a car serves as a driver’s office for an entire year, pilots usually develop relationships with their racers. They’re not always positive ones, though.
Lewis Hamilton told reporters he struggled during the first two practice sessions for the Formula One Azerbaijan Grand Prix because of his 2017 car’s temperamental nature, according to ESPN. The Mercedes-AMG Petronas driver had a tough time keeping temperature in his tires Friday, as did most drivers, though this has consistently been a problem for Hamilton this year.
“I think (Thursday) I said it was ‘a badass mother’ because it can be a badass mother,” Hamilton said. “But it can also be a real (pain).”
Only Hamilton didn’t say “pain.”
Mercedes’ W08 EQ Power+ is one of the fastest cars on the grid, but it has a very narrow operating window, something that’s impacted Hamilton more than his teammate, Valtteri Bottas. This was evident when Hamilton qualified P14 for the Monaco Grand Prix, prompting team boss Toto Wolff to admit the 2017 car is “a bit of a diva.”
The finicky W08’s sweet spot has been made even smaller by the fact that Pirelli’s new-for-2017 tires are too hard. To its credit, Pirelli has admitted it over-engineered the tires, and as a result, won’t use the hardest compound for the remainder of the season.
That’s made it especially difficult for drivers to get their tires up to operating temperature at Baku City Circuit, as tires already are prone to losing heat while on the track’s 1.367-mile straight.
“Yeah, it’s way worse,” Hamilton said, via ESPN. “I think a lot of it is contributed by these tires being a lot worse in the sense that (they are) bigger, heavier, stiffer, harder and just don’t work a lot of the time.”
Hamilton finished FP2 with the 10th fastest time. But Bottas finished just one-tenth off pace-setter Max Verstappen, so Hamilton’s still confident he has a car capable of securing pole Saturday.
Thumbnail photo via Mercedes-AMG Petronas
