Hamilton: 2017 mule car tyre testing a "waste of my time"
Lewis Hamilton believes testing the prototype 2017 Formula 1 tyres with modified cars last year would have been a "waste of time" because of the differences to this year's machinery.
Photo by: Pirelli
Mercedes, Ferrari and Red Bull provided modified 2015 cars designed to simulate the performance of this year's faster breed of F1 single-seaters to allow Pirelli to prepare its new, bigger tyres for 2017.
While Sebastian Vettel carried out much of Ferrari's testing, Hamilton pulled out of his only run for Mercedes in Abu Dhabi last year feeling unwell, having missed a previously scheduled test due to a sore foot.
When asked by Motorsport.com if Vettel's Australian GP victory, in a race where Mercedes struggled to get on top of the tyres, could have been down to the German doing more of the mule-car running, Hamilton dismissed the suggestion.
"I'm so glad I didn't do that testing, because the car is so different," said Hamilton ahead of this weekend's Chinese Grand Prix.
"I did a few laps in the Abu Dhabi test in the 2015 car and it was so much different to this car. It would have been a waste of my time. I'm glad I didn't do it. It made no difference.
"The fact is the [mule] car had so much less downforce and it was lighter than the car we have today, so it wouldn't have put the tyres in the same window.
"The stuff I would have learned then, I would have to undo it and learn again."
While Vettel said he could not be certain of the impact of carrying out the tests, he believes opportunities to drive outside of F1 weekends should be taken.
"I am happy to drive the car, there's always something to learn, so the days with Pirelli, they also helped me," said Vettel.
"The reason why I am happy to do it is because I love driving. When there is an opportunity to test, even though testing can be boring – you are driving.
"That's better than sitting on a bike to be fit to drive the car. Track time is limited. I cannot understand why you would reject it."
Hamilton added that Mercedes has learned from its problems in Australia, although he said it's not a straightforward situation to fix.
"We've taken a lot from the race so we have a better understanding of the tyres and why we were in the scenario we were in," he said.
"We're conscious of that scenario now. We don't have the answer for it because it's dependent on weather conditions, but we can be more reactive to it now."
Additional reporting by Ben Anderson and Jonathan Noble
Be part of Motorsport community
Join the conversationShare Or Save This Story
F1 2019 game to allow official driver transfers
Albon keeps Toro Rosso on top in morning of Day 4
Michael Schumacher's top 10 F1 victories
Hamilton needs talk with Wolff to prepare Ferrari F1 move
Hamilton: MotoGP and F1 shared events would be “epic”
The status factor that made Ferrari impossible for Hamilton to turn down
F1 Chinese GP: How to watch, ESPN Formula 1 TV times in USA
Mercedes becomes first F1 team to exceed £500m turnover
The F1 breakthroughs Mercedes made in Japan – and what's next
Porsche lodges appeal over da Costa's Misano Formula E disqualification
Ricky Taylor looking for redemption at Long Beach
How Senna’s early Pacific GP exit raised his Benetton suspicions
What could have been: When Villeneuve’s shock return thwarted an F1 rookie
What's been going wrong for Leclerc in F1's tiny margins qualifying game
What the Chinese GP's highlights reveal about its first F1 race for five years
The secrets of F1 turbocharging explained
Why Alpine’s rigorous training camp yields telling insights into its juniors
Subscribe and access Motorsport.com with your ad-blocker.
From Formula 1 to MotoGP we report straight from the paddock because we love our sport, just like you. In order to keep delivering our expert journalism, our website uses advertising. Still, we want to give you the opportunity to enjoy an ad-free and tracker-free website and to continue using your adblocker.
Top Comments