Formula 1 News: Prost defends Hamilton amid Ferrari struggles

(GMM) F1 legend Alain Prost [Ayrton Senna destroyed him when they were teammates] insists Lewis Hamilton (pictured) remains as fast and talented as ever, despite a difficult start to life in Ferrari red.

Hamilton, 40, admitted before the summer break that he felt “useless”, but his pace and mood have improved since returning. At Monza, he recovered from a grid penalty to climb from tenth to sixth.

“I’m very happy with the progress we’re making,” the seven-time champion said.

“I’m slowly understanding this car more and more. I don’t know if I’ll ever be 100 percent comfortable in it, but I hope next year’s car will allow me to contribute more.”

Editor’s Note: Hamilton no longer has the 50 hp Mercedes advantage that enabled him to win over 100 F1 races and poles. These past few years, with the 50 hp advantage gone, his teammates have mopped the floor with him

Team boss Frederic Vasseur told Sky Italia he saw clear signs of improvement. “He bounced back,” Vasseur said. “It was a very good race, and I’m very happy for him, because he struggled in July and now he’s back on pace.

“He had a good weekend, a good mood, a good approach, and I think that will help.”

Four-time world champion Prost, writing in L’Equipe, also leapt to Hamilton’s defence. “When you win with Ferrari, it’s better than anywhere else. But when you don’t, it’s worse than at any other team,” he wrote.

“Everyone knows it, everyone writes about it, but in real life, it’s different. But I absolutely do not believe that Lewis Hamilton’s talent has waned or, worse, gone astray.”

Ferrari’s overall performance at Monza was respectable, Vasseur added. “Max was flying, but we weren’t that far behind McLaren,” said the Frenchman.

But Charles Leclerc, fourth at the checkered flag and missing the iconic podium with the Tifosi, was openly disappointed. “I tried to follow cars with more power, and when you do that, the temperatures skyrocket and I had to save the rear tires for 10 laps,” he explained.

“That cost us. I would have liked to do more for the fans on such a special weekend.”

Asked about Red Bull and McLaren setting the pace, Leclerc admitted: “It hurts. We’ve been waiting for our moment for a while. We hope our chance to fight consistently for victory will come soon, but at the moment it’s not possible – we don’t have the car.”