{"id":380630,"date":"2026-01-01T02:40:14","date_gmt":"2026-01-01T02:40:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/380630\/"},"modified":"2026-01-01T02:40:14","modified_gmt":"2026-01-01T02:40:14","slug":"mercedes-hasnt-missed-hamilton-in-the-car-since-his-move-to-ferrari","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/380630\/","title":{"rendered":"Mercedes hasn\u2019t missed Hamilton in the car since his move to Ferrari"},"content":{"rendered":"

Mercedes has shown little sign of suffering following Lewis Hamilton<\/a>\u2019s departure in 2025. Trackside Engineering Director Andrew Shovlin<\/a> explained why the team believes Kimi Antonelli is a worthy successor to the seven-time world champion.”The vast majority of it isn’t the driver saying \u2018I need this\u2019 and us rushing off and trying to find it.”- Andrew ShovlinHamilton\u2019s move to Ferrari for the 2025 season was announced even before the 2024 Formula 1<\/a> campaign began, bringing an end to one of the most successful partnerships in the sport\u2019s history. After years of dominance and six drivers’ world titles with Mercedes, the Briton\u2019s exit forced the team into a major decision about its future.<\/p>\n

Mercedes briefly explored the possibility of signing Max Verstappen, but ultimately chose a different path. George Russell was promoted to team leader, while highly-rated youngster Kimi Antonelli was handed an early opportunity in Formula 1. <\/p>\n

On paper, losing a driver of Hamilton\u2019s stature<\/a> – renowned for his vast experience and technical feedback – appeared to be a major setback. Red Bull team principal Laurent Mekies has previously described Verstappen as the most important \u201csensor\u201d in his car,<\/a> highlighting the value of elite driver input.\"Andrew<\/p>\n

Andrew Shovlin states that Mercedes does not rely entirely on driver feedback \u2014 Photo: RacePictures<\/p>\n

Mercedes absorbed losing Hamilton<\/p>\n

However, Shovlin explained that Mercedes\u2019 development process is far less dependent on driver feedback than many might assume.<\/p>\n

“I mean to be honest, with George, it\u2019s fine,” the Briton said in response to GPblog\u2019s question. \u201cThe bigger point is we don’t really develop a car predominantly on what the driver is telling us. Most of it will come from simulations, you’re searching for downforce, you’re searching for certain balance characteristics that you know will deliver lap time, you’re trying to reduce drag.<\/p>\n

“You’re developing suspension characteristics that can put the car in a better aerodynamic window. So the vast majority of it isn’t the driver saying \u2018I need this\u2019 and us rushing off and trying to find it.<\/p>\n

“It’s very, very helpful that you have the consistent element of George in the car. He’s known these cars through this regulation set. So there was never really any worry of would we lose our way from a development point of view.<\/p>\n

“And as I said, Kimi’s great at telling you what the car’s doing. So there’s no bit there that needed work on. It was more that we had a phenomenal run with Lewis with an awful lot of success, he decided to try a new challenge at Ferrari, we were always looking to Kimi as the future, and there was inevitably going to be a learning year.<\/p>\n

“We were fully committed to that, and on balance, I think it’s gone well.”<\/p>\n

Mercedes is on the way up<\/p>\n

That confidence appears to be paying off. With Russell and Antonelli, Mercedes achieved second place in the constructors\u2019 championship in 2025 after finishing third the year before. McLaren, however, remained untouchable, securing the title with six races to spare despite using the same Mercedes power unit.<\/p>\n

Looking ahead, Mercedes\u2019 focus is firmly on 2026. With sweeping new regulations for cars, engines, and fuel, the team sees a major opportunity. Given how well previous regulation changes have suited Mercedes, many in the paddock already consider the German manufacturer a leading contender for the next era, despite losing a seven-time world champion.<\/p>\n

The latest episode of F1 Paddock UpdateWant to stay up-to-date with what happens in the F1<\/a> paddock? Then GPblog’s F1 Paddock Update video is the perfect way to do it. Subscribe to GPblog’s YouTube channel and turn on notifications to never miss the latest episodes.<\/p>\n

Follow us on Spotify as well!<\/p><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Mercedes has shown little sign of suffering following Lewis Hamilton\u2019s departure in 2025. Trackside Engineering Director Andrew Shovlin…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":380631,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[441],"tags":[81720,49,48,578,28673,5105,576,577,932,82],"class_list":{"0":"post-380630","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-formula-1","8":"tag-andrew-shovlin","9":"tag-ca","10":"tag-canada","11":"tag-f1","12":"tag-f1-news","13":"tag-features","14":"tag-formula-1","15":"tag-formula1","16":"tag-lewis-hamilton","17":"tag-sports"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/380630","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=380630"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/380630\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/380631"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=380630"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=380630"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=380630"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}