Juan Pablo Montoya says Lewis Hamilton has found a way to exploit F1’s new battery rules

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Juan Pablo Montoya says Lewis Hamilton’s intelligent racecraft is coming to the fore under F1’s new regulations. Hamilton prevailed in an extended battle with teammate Charles Leclerc at the Chinese Grand Prix.

David Croft says Hamilton has proved organic overtakes are still possible, having made an inventive move on Leclerc through turn eight during their thrilling scrap. He caught George Russell out with a similar manoeuvre during the Sprint, even if the Mercedes driver ultimately prevailed.

Hamilton was also praised by David Coulthard for his ‘creative’ racing on a weekend where he stood on the podium for the first time in Ferrari colours.

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Juan Pablo Montoya says Lewis Hamilton pounces when rivals recover energy

Montoya is a fan of the new regulations, which remain divisive despite a sharp increase in overtakes at the opening two rounds. Some drivers feel the batteries are overpowered, leading to artificial, ‘Mario Kart’-like racing.

But Montoya instead views the use of the battery as strategic. He pointed to the example of Hamilton, who waited until Leclerc and Russell were recovering energy through the middle sector before striking.

The 41-year-old took a risk with these attacks, which could have left him short on charge down the long back straight, but it never felt as if he had been trigger-happy.

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“When you’re attacking and you’re faster, you can force the person to use their energy where it’s not needed,” Montoya told AS Colombia.

“For example, Hamilton did a very good job with that, passing through places where people were recovering energy. He didn’t care, he used a little more [energy] and he passed. It worked very well.”

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Hamilton didn’t finish ahead of Leclerc in a race last year until round nine in Spain. He only did so three times overall.

But after chasing the Monegasque all the way to the chequered flag in Australia, he got the better of his teammate in China. Montoya says the dynamic in the battle has shifted.

After Ferrari reset their handling for the new regulations to make it ‘more relaxed’, Hamilton has found it easier to manage the tyres and sustain his pace.

“Ferrari are better, and since it’s a new set of regulations, they had to start from scratch,” said Montoya. “Knowing the problems Lewis had in the past, they were going to improve that to make it easier to drive, more relaxed, and that’s where you see the difference.

“Lewis is doing a good job, because look how he’s fighting with Charles. Normally, Charles has done a better job with the tyres and he ends up overtaking Lewis in the long runs.

“This time it wasn’t the case, this time it was the other way around, Charles suffered the most.”