David Croft warns Ferrari have a ‘damning’ problem that Lewis Hamilton exposed at Canadian GP

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Lewis Hamilton grabbed his best result for Ferrari at the Canadian Grand Prix after not using the simulator before the race. David Croft sees this as a ‘damning’ issue for the team.

The seven-time champion has seemed to question the usefulness of the simulator in Maranello. Last year, Hamilton ‘hardly ever’ used Ferrari’s simulator compared to teammate Charles Leclerc.

Before the Canadian Grand Prix, he admitted that he would not use it for the race in Montreal. This resulted in his best result for Ferrari to date, finishing second after a brilliant battle with Max Verstappen.

Lewis Hamilton’s attitude towards Ferrari’s simulator is ‘damning’, says David Croft

Jolyon Palmer likened Hamilton to Michael Schumacher, as both drivers have a more ‘old-school’ approach and do not see the benefits of the simulator. Without it, the 41-year-old was perhaps performing the best he ever had at Ferrari in Canada.

Hamilton exceeded Fred Vasseur’s expectations, as the Frenchman expected Ferrari to be behind the likes of McLaren and Mercedes, who had brought upgrades to Montreal. But in doing so, it highlighted a huge problem for the team.

Croft says Ferrari should worry about their simulator, as it clearly is not giving Hamilton the right correlation with the SF-26. If the Brit can finish second without it, it is a ‘damning’ issue that should be addressed.

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He said via Sky Sports’ The F1 Show: “But it’s great to see Lewis Hamilton happy. Now, whether it’s advisable to stay off the sim for the rest of the season, I don’t know.

“It is quite damning, I think, on the Ferrari simulator that he decides he’s not going to use it and then has his best weekend as a Ferrari driver.

“So I would worry about the correlation issues if, as he said, the setup that he’s given after going on the sim is often the wrong one.

“But at least he’s got the courage of his convictions, as he often has to try and find a way around it, and I thought he drove superbly in the race.”