"Max doesn't know what I'm talking about" - Lewis Hamilton's subtle dig at Max Verstappen over porpoising expected at 2022 F1 British GP

Lewis Hamilton talks to the media in parc ferme during the F1 Grand Prix of Canada at Circuit Gilles Villeneuve on June 19, 2022 in Montreal, Quebec. (Photo by Clive Mason/Getty Images)
Lewis Hamilton talks to the media in parc ferme during the F1 Grand Prix of Canada at Circuit Gilles Villeneuve on June 19, 2022 in Montreal, Quebec. (Photo by Clive Mason/Getty Images)

Lewis Hamilton feels it's hard for Max Verstappen to empathize with the porpoising in his car in comparison to Carlos Sainz. The Briton had a light moment with the two podium sharers as he took a subtle dig at the Dutchman in jest.

The Briton commented on his confidence going into the British GP. He said:

“I think were better in medium and high-speed corners probably, than we are in the low-speed corners so I...but we have bouncing, so I dont know how its going to be through Copse and all those places. Max [Verstappen] doesnt know what Im talking about - but Carlos [Sainz] knows what Im saying. So, it’ll be interesting for us there. But yeah, really excited to get back to the UK, the weathers incredible right now, so I hope its the same next week.”

Looking ahead to the Silverstone weekend, the seven-time world champion feels that the bouncing could return in the high-speed sections of the circuit. Although he is excited to return to his home circuit where he has clinched eight victories, it is unclear as to what he can expect from the car.

Taking a subtle swipe at Verstappen in jest, Lewis Hamilton stated that the Dutchman will not be able to understand the bouncing on his car but maybe Sainz could. In response, Verstappen imitated the bouncing effect on Lewis Hamilton's car.

The Ferraris have also had a bouncy car and suffered from the porpoising phenomenon, while Red Bull remains the only team to have eliminated bouncing completely.


Lewis Hamilton reveals Mercedes changed his setup for the Canadian race

The Mercedes driver arrived in Canada with an extremely experimental setup for his car, which did not work in practice sessions. Lewis Hamilton revealed they had to change the setup for the race. Despite the changes and the improvement in balance, the Briton feels the bouncing on their car refuses to go away.

Describing the improvements in the race compared to the rest of the Canadian GP weekend, Hamilton said:

“The balance I had on Monday (sic ‘Friday’) was neutral, super positive, so no rear end. And as soon as you apply one degree of turning, the rear end’s come around. So, I was just fighting that constantly and it was very difficult to keep it out the wall. That’s why I didn’t finish my long run, because it was just undriveable in the set-up window that we tried.”

He continued:

“It was just an experiment, to see whether the car would work there, it didn’t. So, then we made the changes, and today was a much more...a much, much better balance in terms of I had a little, nice amount of understeer today, better traction, not having those snaps. So, it was night and day difference. We still have bouncing, that’s not going away.”

In Montreal, the two Mercedes drivers matched Red Bull and Ferrari in terms of race pace. With Silverstone up next, it will be difficult to predict if their car will perform seamlessly since it's a more conventional circuit compared to Monaco, Baku, and Canada.

Quick Links