Lewis Hamilton criticizes increasing software dependency in Formula 1

– Lewis Hamilton has criticized Formula 1’s growing dependence on complex software systems. According to the Ferrari driver, drivers are increasingly being held back by the energy management of hybrid powertrains instead of being rewarded for their driving performance.

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In a conversation with Neil deGrasse Tyson on the “StarTalk” podcast on the sidelines of the Miami Grand Prix in early May, the seven-time world champion explained that the current technical regulations are difficult for even the drivers to understand.

Hamilton explains the pitfalls of the current energy management

“It is really hard for the fans to fully understand all of this, and it is also hard for us to understand. Because the real goal when driving a Formula 1 car is to push the car to the limit,” Hamilton explains.

“The faster you take a corner, the more time you should gain over others. But at the moment, we constantly have to manage energy because of the limited battery capacity. When you lift off, you charge the battery; when you accelerate, you consume energy,” the Brit continues.

More risk can become a disadvantage

According to Hamilton, the current systems mean that drivers can even be at a disadvantage in certain situations when they are particularly fast. The background is the reduced energy recovery after the removal of the MGU-H.

“We have less energy available this year because they removed the MGU-H, which we still had last year. That is already quite complicated. So if you take a fast corner with more commitment, take more risk and are therefore faster, you will be penalized afterwards because you do not recover enough energy,” Hamilton emphasizes.

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Software problems cost valuable time, according to Hamilton

He also believes that problems with the software cause additional frustration. “Yesterday I lost three tenths of a second just because the software didn’t do its job. But I only found out when I got back to my engineers.”

“I apologized and said, ‘Sorry, I’m too slow.’ Then they said, ‘You’re not too slow. The software didn’t work properly.’ That is really frustrating because we didn’t have such problems before. We need less of that,” Hamilton said.

After the first nine races of the season, the Brit is in third place in the drivers’ standings. The ranking is led by Kimi Antonelli, who is ahead of his teammate George Russell.

The next race on the calendar is the Belgian Grand Prix at Spa-Francorchamps this weekend, where the energy management criticized by Hamilton will again play an important role due to the long full-throttle sections and high energy demand.

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