Hamilton regrets Monza set-up choice
After a disappointing display at Monza’s qualifying session, Lewis Hamilton of McLaren has expressed his frustration at dropping the use of the F-duct aerodynamic device. Earning himself fifth spot with a qualifying time of 1:22.623, the Briton failed to finish the race on Sunday when attempts to gain a higher place caused him to crash out.
The 25 year-old champion was debating whether or not to use the newly implemented F-duct aerodynamic device, which allows the rear wing to be installed at high speed. Though pioneered by McLaren, the F-duct’s ability to give the car more speed without being caught by F1 regulation has made it a favourite new addition among other teams as well.
Perhaps due to his unfamiliarity with the product, Hamilton chose to configure his vehicle without the F-duct in a low down-force set-up after comparing practice times revealed that its addition made no difference to speed. Team-mate Jenson Button, on the other hand, kept the F-duct and used a high downforce set-up, for its benefit of reducing the drag on the straights, and stabilizing braking. Giving Button both 2nd place finishes on grid and race, the decision paid off.
Given the results, BBC Sport reports Hamilton as stating, “Potentially it [not running the F-duct] had quite a big impact on the result. We chose to go with the lighter downforce level and I'm quite disappointed with fifth place. I struggled a lot on each tyre [prime and the softer option tyres]. Turn one is not easy, and it's going to be very tricky out there on the track trying to gain position. There are long straights, but you've got to get close to the car in front, and that's going to be very hard because I can't follow through the corners.”
Although Hamilton’s race result was the outcome of bad decision-making on his part when he tried to overtake Massa, had he used the F-duct set-up and qualified closer to pole position as the McLaren’s were expected to do by nature of their compatibility with the track, then perhaps McLaren would have enjoyed a higher rank in the championship. Whether or not Hamilton will use the F-duct in future races is uncertain, but it seems as though, with further engineering, it will be a crucial, and perhaps safer addition to many F1 cars this season and the next.
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