Hamilton’s Simulator Snub Raises Serious Questions For Ferrari Ahead Of Monaco

Sky Sports F1 commentator David Croft has suggested that recent comments from Lewis Hamilton should put Ferrari on edge heading into Monaco.
Hamilton has been in significantly better form in 2026 compared to last season, recently claiming his best ever grand prix result in Ferrari red at the Canadian Grand Prix.
The seven-time world champion finished second in Canada and currently sits fourth in the drivers’ championship, just three points behind team-mate Charles Leclerc.
Hamilton dominated Leclerc throughout the Montreal sprint weekend, adding further pressure on the Monegasque driver ahead of a circuit widely considered to be his strongest.
Monaco is statistically one of Leclerc’s best tracks, while Hamilton himself has claimed three victories there across his career.
Croft, speaking on the Sky F1 Show, declared Ferrari favourites for Monaco but pointed to recent Hamilton comments as a cause for concern within the Scuderia.
Following a disappointing Miami Grand Prix, Hamilton admitted that five weeks of work in the Ferrari simulator prior to that race had not been relevant to the actual track conditions.
The 41-year-old said he would change his preparation approach for future race weekends, and subsequently delivered his finest performance since joining the team in January 2025.
Speaking after his Canadian podium, Hamilton highlighted that his two best results with Ferrari came after stepping away from the simulator, a point that Croft seized upon.
“This is Ferrari’s weekend to lose, I really believe that,” Croft said. “But it’s great to see Lewis Hamilton happy.”
“Now whether it’s advisable to stay off the sim for the rest of the season, I don’t know. It is quite damning, I think, on the Ferrari simulator that he decides he’s not going to use it and then has his best weekend as a Ferrari driver.”
“So I would worry about the correlation issues if, as he said, the setup that he’s given after going on the sim is often the wrong one. But at least he’s got the courage of his convictions as he often has to try and find a way around it and I thought he drove superbly in the race and when he had a sniff of getting at Max, Max was losing temperature in his tyres. He really went for it and it was brilliant to see.”
Croft’s remarks raise pointed questions about Ferrari’s simulation technology and whether Hamilton will continue to sidestep it throughout the remainder of the season.
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