Hamilton embraces Leclerc as benchmark: 'Migrating to him'

Lewis Hamilton has revealed that he is slowly but surely migrating to Ferrari teammate Charles Leclerc's driving style and setup preferences for the SF-25.

The Briton has certainly come along way since his dejected demeanor on Saturday evening after qualifying. "I felt realigned with the car, the balance was finally in the right place and my driving style seemed to be working at that moment," said Hamilton of his middle stint, to media including GPblog, after the race in Bahrain.

"I've learned a lot from today and from this weekend actually—probably more than all the other weekends combined," said the particularly excited Brit.

Whatever Hamilton has found in that middle stint, it is evident that replicating that feel is of paramount importance for the British Ferrari driver.

Hamilton unabashed admission: 'Slowly migrating to Charles'

"The key is to try and get back to it every weekend. It’s clear that our car really requires a different driving style, and I think I'm adjusting to that. And also with the setup—I’ve been all over the place, a long way from Charles the past two weekends, but I'm slowly migrating toward him."

If he can find the sweet spot, then there may yet be hope for the seven-time world champion and his team to become regular contenders at the top. "So I think if I start the weekend from a more convenient spot and apply the techniques I’ve learned this weekend, hopefully it’ll work."

After qualifying, a very much downbeat Hamilton addressed the media. What's changed that could affect his demeanor so profoundly in such a short time window?

"I actually went to bed early. I had a discussion with myself. I had a really good start today, and I knew that the next day would be a new day. So I just tried to start a little more positive. Obviously, qualifying is still not good enough, but if I can get the car back to where it was during that middle stint and start delivering from there... You can see I can still race. So if I fix that, it should be a better weekend."

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