Lewis Hamilton said he has struggled to get the most out of Formula 1’s tyres since the series ditched the 13-inch wheel size in 2022.
The Mercedes driver holds the record for most pole positions and scored his 105th last weekend. However only two of those have come in the five seasons since then – and both came by a margin of less than a hundredth of a second.Hamilton said “I knew all weekend that I had the pace to be on pole” in Mexico but “the key is getting the tyres working.”
“You see us all go out and it looks like we’re doing okay, but the tyres operate in a very small window where they’re good, and then they overheat. I’m really perfecting that.
“That’s been something I’ve really struggled with, I would say, probably the last few years, particularly as we went to the 18-inch tyre, just learning to drive differently. It’s a bit of a different skill set, or just a different way you have to drive and approach these corners and it requires a different type of balance usage.”
Hamilton drove on 13-inch tyres for 15 seasons before the current format with narrower sidewalls was introduced. He said he rediscovered some of his past techniques last weekend.
“I was able to utilise a couple more tools that I’ve not used for like 13 years,” he said. “I just got the tyres in the perfect window on that out-lap.
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“Once I was through turns one, two and three, it was kind of smooth from there, and I just don’t think I lost any time anywhere, to be honest.”
“We have guidance of the tyre temperatures we need to reach. All of us are pushing very hard on out-laps to try and get the tyres to work and in the window.
“As you go down the straights, the tyres lose temperature, obviously, and it is quite a hard tyre. I remember back in the day we used to crawl around super-slow, and then you start pushing and the tyres are ready.
“I think the 13-inch period for me was a nicer, softer tyre. It took the bumps better. I liked the movement of the tyre. You could feel it more.
“This one’s just solid. It’s like a rock-solid wall. It doesn’t really move much because it’s such a short sidewall. It performs well when you get it working.”
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Qualifying in Mexico was one of the times Hamilton felt he was “able to extract the most from the tyre, and it stayed through the lap.”
“More often than not, you’re like, ‘The front tyre is not in for turn one, but the rears are,” and the fronts start coming in and the rears start going off. It’s this constant seesaw you’re having.
“Then sometimes the rears aren’t ready as you come out of the last corner to start the lap, but then at the end they’re better. Sometimes they’re too ready.
“Trying to find that balance, I’m telling you, it’s like finding a needle in a haystack. And honestly, it’s been very, very, very tricky to find. But where there’s a will, there’s a way. You just continue to work at it.”