Lewis Hamilton has explained how behind-the-scenes changes at Ferrari have allowed him to be in a “really happy place.”
The seven-time champion struggled badly during his first season with the Scuderia, and branded himself “useless” following a particularly galling qualifying in Hungary where he was only 12th on the grid – before going on to end the year without a podium finish and three successive Q1 exits.
Over the winter, Hamilton changed his race engineer, with Riccardo Adami being moved off his car, with the two having failed to gel as Kimi Raikkonen’s former race engineer Carlo Santi stepped in.
That, coupled with ‘internal changes’ has unlocked the “best-ever” feeling for Hamilton at Maranello, with the team looking to catch pace-setters Mercedes in the constructors’ standings.
“I am in a really happy place,” Hamilton told media, including ApexF1News.
“With the team, it has taken a long time to adjust, on both sides, and it was a difficult season last year with the car that we weren’t developing.
“But we’ve made so many changes internally, both within the team and how we operate back at the factory, and it is like the best it’s ever been in terms of how we work together.
“Perhaps there are a couple of sponsor commitments too many, but otherwise, it is really good.”
