Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc were both disqualified for technical infringements in China, after Hamilton took Sprint victory in Shanghai.
Juan Pablo Montoya described Lewis Hamilton as being “so uncomfortable” with his Ferrari during the Chinese Grand Prix, adding the belief that he “did not trust the car” in Australia.
The former McLaren and Williams driver added, though, that when the seven-time World Champion gets to grips with his new machinery, “it is going to be really good” for both driver and team.
Hamilton took his first P1 finish in Ferrari colours with pole and victory in the Sprint at the Shanghai International Circuit last time out, but he and Charles Leclerc finished the main Grand Prix in fifth and sixth place, before separate technical infringements caused both Ferrari drivers to be disqualified.
While Hamilton took Sprint victory in Shanghai, he admitted setup changes to his SF-25 made the car “quite a bit worse” heading into Grand Prix qualifying, with those adjustments subsequently locked in for the race under parc fermé conditions.
Having looked at footage of Hamilton, seven-time Grand Prix winner Montoya believed the Briton suffered from understeer, having had a “really snappy” car beforehand.
But, once he and the team gel properly, he predicts better times ahead for Hamilton and Ferrari.
“Lewis Hamilton is so uncomfortable in that car,” Montoya told Vision4Sport.
“The first time you could see him driving with a car that he was comfortable with was China on the Friday and the Saturday race. But then for sure they made changes to the car to try to make it better.
“From watching on TV, it looks to me like he had maybe too much understeer in the car and he wanted the car to turn a little more, and the only thing engineers can do at the moment is to make it really snappy.
“Because in Australia they wanted a car to turn, and he was running over all the kerbs.
“You could see he was afraid of moving the hands, like he did not trust the car.
“So, it’s going to take a bit of time, but when they get it right it is going to be really good.
“Everything Ferrari does will be to make the car better for Lewis. A little bit like what happens in Red Bull. And if they make Lewis better, what’s going to happen with Charles Leclerc? He’s going to be unhappy. Yes.”
