Hamilton was right: it's better without Ferrari's simulator

Lewis Hamilton returned to the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve — the scene of his maiden Formula 1 victory — and delivered what is, to date, his finest performance in Ferrari red. A second-place finish at the Canadian Grand Prix marked a landmark moment in what has been a turbulent 17-month spell at the Scuderia, one defined as much by struggle and scrutiny as by the occasional flash of the brilliance that made him a seven-time world champion.

A Weekend Built on the Right Foundations

From there, he methodically hunted down Max Verstappen's Red Bull. The pass for second place came in the closing stages of the race, a hard-fought move that Hamilton described as "massively challenging" — and one that drew a remarkable level of satisfaction from the Briton.

"Yeah, I had so much fun out there all weekend," he said after the chequered flag. "Every single lap. I felt like we started on the right foot, came with the right attitude and the car really generally felt great. And so, to come to Montreal, a track that I do love, and get to enjoy a sprint weekend here, which is the first that we've had [here], was awesome. And this is my first second place with the team."

His previous best grand prix result with Ferrari had been third in China, where he also claimed a sprint race victory. Beyond those high points, life at Maranello has often been difficult — form fluctuating, speculation about his future mounting, and the weight of expectation from a team and a fanbase unaccustomed to waiting. Montreal felt different. It felt earned.

"It's something I've been working so hard, I can't even begin to explain how deep I've had to dig to be able to get to this point, and the work and moving mountains in the background to enable this sort of performance. But I'm really grateful to the team for continuing to hold me up high and support me weekend in, weekend out."

For context on how Verstappen experienced the same race, Red Bull's perspective from Montreal makes for equally revealing reading.

The Simulator Decision That Keeps Paying Off

Perhaps the most intriguing subplot of Hamilton's Canadian Grand Prix was his pre-race preparation — or rather, what was conspicuously absent from it. Ahead of the weekend, Hamilton confirmed he had chosen not to use Ferrari's simulator at Maranello, citing a lack of correlation between the virtual environment and real-world track conditions encountered so far this season.

It was not a spontaneous decision. He had followed the same approach in China and achieved what was then his best grand prix result for Ferrari. With that data point in hand, he repeated the formula in Montreal — and it worked again. As we explored in detail earlier this week, Hamilton's choice to skip the simulator entirely in favour of a deep-dive into data was a deliberate and considered one, rooted in both instinct and evidence.

He is now committed to maintaining that policy going forward, while acknowledging the simulator still has a role to play — just not in race preparation.

"I'm sure I would drive it at some point," he said. "I think what could be good is, for example, going back and doing correlation to this weekend so we can find out where it's missing. Because the test driver will be on there saying it's all… they will only know what they know because they don't get to drive. It's only Charles and me who get to drive the car. So, the positive of something like being able to drive the real car, go back and say, 'This is actually what it feels like. These are the things that we're missing,' and so that we can improve it."

But for race preparation, the verdict is clear: "Now, whether or not I use it to prepare for another race? Probably not. There are just too many risks. If you look at the two best races I've had, I didn't use a simulator. And that's honestly how it was. Pretty much all the championships before, except for probably 2008, I didn't use the sim. So it's not a necessity. It's a tool that can be powerful. But for me, I'm old school. I'm probably better without it."

A Milestone That Matters

For all the technical nuance surrounding preparation methods and simulator correlation, the result itself carries its own weight. A second place at the Canadian Grand Prix — Hamilton's best finish in Ferrari colours — is a statement that cuts through the noise. It silences, at least momentarily, the persistent speculation about his future and offers a glimpse of what the partnership between one of the sport's greatest drivers and one of its most storied teams can produce when everything clicks.

Montreal, the city where his Formula 1 story first truly ignited, has added another chapter. This one, unlike so many recent ones, ends with Hamilton standing on the podium — satisfied, grateful, and, by his own account, absolutely having fun.