Lewis Hamilton had a roller coaster ride during the Chinese Grand Prix, coming in 2nd during the sprint and then 18th in the main race. While coming in 2nd in the sprint brought in some desperately needed points, finishing 3rd last in the pecking order seemed like a wasted opportunity. But how does one go from being ahead of the grid to being at the back?

Hamilton had a great setup during the Sprint Shootout and sprint, and this led to him leading the grid, but being at the very back during the main race cost him many points that he needed to be competitive. He is currently at P9 in the pecking order, and this is something he has never been used to. But what exactly happened that changed the output from Saturday to Sunday? A setup change, of course!

Lewis Hamilton’s self-sabotage decision

After finishing the sprint at P2, Lewis Hamilton decided to make some changes to his setup. Considering the first two days had semi-wet conditions, Hamilton felt the need to change his setup, but this ended up with devastating results. According to Formulapassion, Toto Wolff came forward to talk about who decided to change the setup, saying, “We definitely made a mistake in setting up the car; Lewis set the set-up direction so wrong that the car didn’t turn in corners.”

The main problem with the W15 was the understeer it faced with the new setup. Lewis Hamilton had an extremely difficult time controlling the car, and Wolff left the decision up to him. Although Hamilton made a great call during the sprint by using intermediate tires while others went full-wet, his choices for the race were suboptimal. This led to the car feeling rigid and unagile, leading to a horrifying P18 finish.

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Lewis Hamilton is going to be leaving Mercedes for Ferrari, and Toto Wolff believes that the soon-to-be ex-driver is happy sabotaging points for the Silver Arrows. Wolff continued to say, “Lewis is in a surprisingly good mood. I don’t know if it’s the knowledge that he will go somewhere else next year. But it’s not like him at all.” Finishing the race at the back of the grid is any racer’s worst nightmare, and despite the loss, Hamilton is reported to be happy.

This has stirred up quite a controversy within Mercedes, with the team believing the driver has lost faith in them and is just enjoying his exit from the team. But one thing is for sure: even coming in second during the sprint has re-established that Lewis Hamilton is not a midfielder and can get ahead of other teams even in a challenging car. However, things are changing for Lewis Hamilton, and the Ferrari switch is not the only new thing. An old rivalry has started to turn into a new friendship, which was noticed after the Chinese Sprint race.

Lewis Hamilton and Max Verstappen bury the hatchet.

Ever since 2021, Hamilton and Verstappen have been hardcore rivals. This is mainly due to the Dutchman stealing the world championship title from Hamilton. This was due to an issue with the former race director, Michael Masi, who made some decisions that led to Max Verstappen unjustly getting an advantage in the race. Although the final race ended with the two shaking hands and Verstappen receiving compliments from the driver he just beat, Hamilton and Mercedes were not happy with the result.

While Mercedes raised a complaint with the FIA, Toto Wolff and Lewis Hamilton protested by not attending the annual FIA’s Awards Gala, where they felicitated Max Verstappen for his first world champion title. But after the Chinese Sprint race, something interesting was noticed on the overhead camera of Hamilton’s W15. The two drivers were found congratulating each other for their 1-2, and Max Verstappen went ahead to hug the seven-time champion to congratulate him.

That being said, do you think Lewis Hamilton has a better chance of competing against Max Verstappen in a Ferrari? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below.