F1 News, Reports and Race Results

Steiner: Someone sure to 'make a meal' out of Hamilton sim session

Haas boss Guenther Steiner believes that Lewis Hamilton's sim session ahead of last Friday's running at Silverstone is likely to be brought to the fore by one of his fellow team principals.

To help fast track Mercedes' preparations for last weekend's British Grand Prix and help the team gauge its upgrade package for Silverstone, Hamilton undertook a simulator session at the outfit's base at Brackley on Friday morning ahead of the afternoon's FP1.

The session was deemed important by the seven-time world champion as Mercedes geared up to fight Red Bull at a venue that ahs been a stronghold for the German outfit over the years.

Steiner reckoned that Mercedes' initiative coupled with Hamilton's win might well trigger a reaction from a rival team boss although he personally had no issue with the plan.

"It’s one race in the year and for sure somebody will make a meal out of it, so let’s wait what is coming out of it,” said the Italian.

"But I don’t know how much advantage you can get in the morning to go in the sim, not having been on the track before.

"But for sure it will get discussed in the future, this thing."

Beyond the opportunistic timing of Hamilton's session, the Briton's presence in Mercedes' simulator was surprising given the seven-time world champion's typical disregard for the practice.

But the 99-time Grand Prix winner obviously felt that every opportunity was worth taking advantage of to try and claw back part of Mercedes' deficit to Red Bull.

"I wasn’t going to sit around and waste time – let’s get to it," Hamilton explained last weekend.

"We did a practice session this morning on there, just trying to develop it and give the guys as much information as possible as we are developing the car."

Gallery: The beautiful wives and girlfriends of F1 drivers

Keep up to date with all the F1 news via Facebook and Twitter

Michael Delaney

Recent Posts

Palmer cherry picks Verstappen’s likely replacement at Red Bull

The rumblings around Max Verstappen’s Formula 1 future continue to roll on – and now…

6 hours ago

How Esteban Tuero unintentionally crowned a king in F1

In 1998, a teenage Argentinian named Esteban Tuero – born on this day in 1978…

8 hours ago

Serra plays down impact of F1 hiatus on Ferrari upgrades

Ferrari has played down suggestions that Formula 1’s unexpected April hiatus offers teams a golden…

9 hours ago

Button: Verstappen won’t pause—he’ll walk away

The idea of Max Verstappen taking a quiet sabbatical from Formula 1? Jenson Button isn’t…

10 hours ago

Wolff draws line over Antonelli–Senna hype: ‘I don’t enjoy it’

Mercedes boss Toto Wolff has delivered a clear message amid the early 2026 Formula 1…

12 hours ago

Formula E unleashes Gen4 future in dramatic Paul Ricard debut

Formula E’s electric future roared – silently but spectacularly – into a new era on…

1 day ago