Lewis Hamilton is the driver with nothing left to prove, though strangely the one with most to prove.
He has seven world titles, his position in the pantheon secured very close to the summit of greatness, and nothing that occurs at Ferrari will alter that fundamental assessment.
But there is plenty of work to do if his last hurrah isn’t to turn into a damp squib. If he is to demonstrate that age has not rubbed off the crucial edge that set him apart. And there are elements so amateur at Ferrari that it is almost impossible to believe.
They seriously underperformed in Melbourne last week. They point to their form in practice as being more representative of their true pace – and they think that’s an excuse rather than self-condemnation!
They are only as good as their last result, and eighth for Charles Leclerc and 10th for Hamilton is hardly good enough for such a team, the richest and most successful in the sport’s history.
They know this and publicly and privately admit it. But a few things perplex any observer. Why were Lewis and his race engineer Riccardo Adami so foreign to each other? As if they had never spoken?
Despite his accolades, Lewis Hamilton has a lot to prove this season with Ferrari
A finish of 10th for Hamilton is hardly good enough for such a team, the richest and most successful in the sport’s history
It takes time to find an understanding with a race engineer, but surely some more work might have gone into their understanding of what was required on both sides
Sure, it takes time to find an understanding and to stress-test exchanges in the heat of a race, but surely some more work might have gone into their understanding of what was required on both sides. There was plenty of time for photos and trumpets.
And why was Hamilton expressing so many caveats about not knowing his way around the car?
After all, Carlos Sainz moved to Williams, and was no longer driving a Ferrari engine, so it was all alien to him, but he showed some significant speed over the weekend – before, ahem, crashing out behind the safety car. But the point is that every driver moving to pastures new has all the imponderables Lewis does.
And, let’s not forget, he is being paid £60million a year as the GOAT. He is the person who should require fewest excuses as the supreme being.
He didn’t need get-out clauses at the start of his career, when he wrote symphonies at will. There may be a lesson in that recollection.
Let’s hope Russell’s wrong
Mind games or truth? A bit of both, it strikes me.
This is the question that accompanies George Russell’s claim that the McLaren car is ‘definitely capable of winning every race’ such is their dominance.
He further argues they are further up the road than Red Bull were in 2023, when they triumphed in 21 of 22 rounds.
Please don’t be right, George.
Let’s hope George Russell isn’t right in his assertion that McLaren could win every race
The Mercedes man, a fine third in Melbourne last week, added a sting to his prediction of his rivals’ total authority, saying: ‘I don’t think they will (win every race).
‘When Max was in that car (the 2023 Red Bull) he was pretty reliable every single lap and throughout qualifying, and it was never in question.
‘Hopefully, we can be there to capitalise like we did last weekend because it should have been a one-two finish for them.’
In other words, Russell does not rate either Lando Norris or Oscar Piastri as highly as Verstappen.
Perhaps he remembers that it was he, not Norris, who was Formula Two champion.
Mr Brown’s buoyed
I bumped into Zak Brown in the paddock. He was bouncing not only to have seen McLaren win the opening race in Melbourne but by his own role in it.
‘I usually sit on the pit wall and do f*** all,’ said the world champion team’s chief executive, laughing. ‘I might be on my phone and doing whatever, but not interfering in strategy.
‘But Randeep (Singh, McLaren’s racing director) said he was too busy to be turning round to check if it was raining. I was given the task. I felt like the kid who never gets picked finally being called into action.’
Brown was seen putting his hand out to test the conditions as they changed. He did such a good job, he may be called upon again.
On another note, he passed on this observation from having dinner with Norris the other day: ‘It’s as if he has grown five years in confidence.’
Zak Brown (right) believes Lando Norris has grown ‘five years in confidence’ this season
Someone’s watching…
I am ‘Reporter 113’ at Shanghai International Circuit with an online log in code all of my own. This is China and the forces of surveillance feel close to your technology.
At other media centres around the world, the password is generic, shared by all. Here it is for the individual, prescribed beforehand and printed ready for your arrival.
Once you are on the internet, it is hardly open season. Try calling up MailOnline and you are facing a screen informing you: ‘This site can’t be reached’.
Ditto searching the Beeb or any media outlet, or, indeed, practically any window into the West.
In another technological update, my debit card was chewed up by the ATM at the first time of asking. Penniless, we carry on.
A breath of fresh air?
Nobody here ever uttered the words ‘carbon neutral by 2050’ but even in the workshop of the world, but I am happy to report that air quality has improved dramatically since Shanghai’s first race in 2004.
Air quality has improved dramatically since Shanghai’s first race in 2004
Alonso’s unique double act
Fernando Alonso is the only man who remains on the grid from the inaugural 2004 Shanghai grand prix
Speaking of that inaugural event, only Fernando Alonso remains on the grid.
He is 43 and formed part of a surely unique double act on the press conference stage. For not only is he driving for Aston Martin, but manager to rookie Gabriel Bortoleto of Sauber.
I have been a long-time admirer of Alonso’s brilliance, not only as a very good racer but as a great one.
But not even he can go on forever, and Bortoleto may form part of glide path out of the cockpit and the only living he has ever known.