LEWIS HAMILTON said he refused to be another name on the list of Formula One champions who failed to win a title for Ferrari, and was making “a big, big push” back at the factory to help boost the chances of success.
The seven-times world champion and record race winner, who moved from Mercedes to Maranello this season, has yet to stand on the podium after 12 races with the sport’s oldest, most glamorous and successful team.
Ferrari has not won a drivers’ title since Kimi Raikkonen in 2007.
“I see a huge amount of potential within this team. The passion — nothing comes close to that. But it’s a huge organisation, and there are a lot of moving parts,“ Hamilton told reporters on Thursday at the Belgian Grand Prix.
“And not all of them are firing on all the cylinders that they need to be. That’s ultimately why the team has not had the success that I think it deserves.
“So, I feel that it’s my job to challenge absolutely every area, to challenge everybody in the team — particularly the guys that are at the top who are making the decisions.”
Hamilton named Raikkonen, seemingly forgetting that the Finn won his sole title with Ferrari, along with multiple world champions Fernando Alonso and Sebastian Vettel on a list of those who ended up frustrated with their stint in red.
“I refuse for that to be the case with me,“ said the 40-year-old Briton, who wants an eighth title but knows time is not on his side. “So I’m going the extra mile.
“I think if you take the same path all the time, you get the same results. So I’m just challenging certain things. They’ve been incredibly responsive. We’ve been improving in so many areas.”
Hamilton said he had been busy at the factory since his home grand prix at Silverstone, where he finished fourth, holding meetings and going over everything that he felt needed to change.
He has called meetings attended by leaders from various departments as well as principal Fred Vasseur.
“I’ve sent documents… after the first few races I did a full document for the team. Then during this break, I had another two documents that I sent in, and then I come in and want to address those,“ he said.
“Some of it’s structural adjustments that we need to make as a team in order to get better in all the areas we want to improve.
“And the other one was really about the car — the current issues that I have, some things that you do want to take on to next year’s car, and some that you need to work on changing.”
Hamilton is sixth in the standings, 16 points behind fifth-placed teammate Charles Leclerc. He has so far beaten the Monegasque only twice in regular grands prix.
The Briton won in Belgium last year, his 105th and most recent win – REUTERS
