Johnny Herbert believes Lewis Hamilton must step up his performance against Charles Leclerc at this weekend’s Chinese Grand Prix, emphasising the need for the seven-time Formula 1 world champion to assert himself within Ferrari.
Ex-Formula 1 driver and FIA Steward, turned pundit, Herbert said: "It was an important weekend in Australia. It was very instructive. Charles does seem to be happy with the situation that he's in. He's comfortable with the car at the moment, although it is not competitive enough at the present time.
"That is where Lewis has got to be able to put the pressure on, and by putting the pressure on, I mean beating him. That’s what we need to start to see in China. It is early days, and the conditions [in Melbourne] were not great, but that's no excuse.
"Lewis will be very frustrated with his performance. He needs to raise his game. He's aware of it. We're all aware of it, and I'm sure Ferrari are aware of it. But he's up against a very competitive younger man in Leclerc," warned Herbert.
Ferrari’s strategy call in Melbourne cost them in the race
Ferrari's dubious strategic decisions in Australia also came under scrutiny from Herbert, who felt the Italian team made a costly error by failing to react quickly enough to the changing conditions.
Herbert ventured: "There were decisions made and strategy calls which were wrong. We've seen that before from Ferrari. It has got a lot better. But they made the wrong call in Melbourne. That's something they've got to get on top of."
Hamilton was vocal on team radio as the weather deteriorated, but Herbert believes Ferrari should have been more proactive: "Lewis was very vocal which is interesting. It’s going to be interesting to watch. Modern-day engineering – radio communication has got to work both ways and Lewis was very much sort of, ‘I know, I know, I know.’
"It did seem fairly obvious that rain was coming! They stayed out there way too long. And then by that point, when the rain came, they were done. They were never going to be able to come back from it. It was a fundamental call to get the weather communications in a better place. Red Bull, Mercedes and McLaren got it right," reckoned Herbert.
Indeed Lando Norris won the race for McLaren after a race-long duel with Max Verstappen who finished P2, and George Russell claiming P3 for Mercedes at Albert Park last Sunday. (
Quotes from SpaceportSweden
Latest News
Loading
