Nick Heidfeld thinks people ‘don’t like to hear’ Lewis Hamilton’s age is a reason for his problems at Ferrari
A primary cause for his problems since moving to Maranello is Ferrari’s car is unpredictable on low fuel in qualifying. So, Ferrari are working on an unexpected rear suspension change, which they hope can allow Hamilton to rediscover his pace after qualifying P8.7 on average.
Ferrari saw Hamilton eliminated from qualifying in Q2 at Imola, as well, which was even the second straight race he qualified in P12. Yet Ferrari do not understand why their car is faster on used tyres, having confirmed their issue at Imola as Charles Leclerc even qualified in P11.
But while Nick Heidfeld feels Hamilton is capable of reaching greater heights at Ferrari once he is fully comfortable with their car, the former Williams F1 driver concedes the seven-time champion’s age is not in his favour. Heidfeld can see clear changes from even five years ago.
Heidfeld told F1-Insider. “If the car suits him, he can still perform at his best. We saw that in China. But compared to Leclerc, he’s currently lagging behind, especially in qualifying.
“And, of course, even if some people don’t like to hear it, he’s not the youngest anymore. If you compare him to the Hamilton of five or 10 years ago, you can see the differences.”
