In the past, Suzuka has often been one of Lewis Hamilton’s strongholds, one of his favorite tracks thanks to the long corners and high-speed sequences that suited the characteristics of his Mercedes and his driving style.
But with Ferrari, the start was slightly different, as this weekend in Japan didn’t bring much satisfaction, partly due to a lackluster qualifying and race compared to his teammate. The seven-time world champion finished only in seventh place, 13 seconds behind Leclerc, never really being “in the game.”
After qualifying, Lewis Hamilton explained that he had chosen a setup he hoped would provide better race benefits compared to Charles Leclerc’s, as he also had to run higher based on what had happened in China.
An admission of Ferrari’s issues, but this weekend also highlighted his own struggles in extracting the maximum from the SF-25 in fast corners where total confidence in the entry phase is needed, an issue that had already been seen in both Shanghai and Melbourne. However, the setup gamble didn’t pay off as hoped, and the choice to start on the hard tire didn’t work either.
On a track where track position is crucial and overtaking a rival is quite difficult, not only because a significant performance delta is needed, but also because there is only one DRS zone, Hamilton chose a different strategic approach, starting on the hard tires in the hope of a Safety Car, which never came.
“In the end, obviously, there was no Safety Car, so it didn’t make much difference. I believe the medium tire was definitely better for the start of the race, especially in these colder conditions,” the British driver said after the race.
Lewis Hamilton made one of the few overtakes of the race, with DRS on Isack Hadjar, who, despite a strong performance on Saturday with a Racing Bulls car that was very consistent on a single lap, didn’t have the same pace during the race. However, it’s clear that this wasn’t enough, and seventh place was only a small consolation.
The pace was clearly not on par with that of the rivals, even compared to Mercedes. In the second stint, Andrea Kimi Antonelli, who was also on the hard tire compared to Hamilton’s medium, was able to pull away, maintaining a pace that was unreachable for Ferrari’s #44. Lewis Hamilton struggled both on Saturday and Sunday with a balance that was far from perfect, with a lot of understeer and, especially, a rear end that tended to move around, in a race that was largely determined by rear tire wear.
“My pace today was the maximum I could do. I had nothing else. This weekend I struggled with the rear of the car, which was underperforming, and obviously, qualifying position is key. I think I would probably have been passed by the Mercedes even if I had started further up. I hope the next race allows me to get closer somehow.” – he pointed out – “The Mercedes are faster than us, which is why we saw them so close to Charles. Right now, they have more pace than we do. When I was behind Antonelli, he was much faster in certain parts of the track. I couldn’t keep up with him.” – the Briton admitted at the end of the Japanese Grand Prix.
After qualifying, Lewis Hamilton admitted that Charles Leclerc had probably pushed the car beyond its limit, getting the maximum performance from the SF-25. The Monegasque driver was then able to maintain that fourth position despite pressure from Mercedes in the first stint, although Russell eventually managed to close the gap to just under a second and a half.
Charles Leclerc had a very solid weekend, and perhaps, as with Max Verstappen, track position gave him an advantage, but regardless of this, Lewis Hamilton hopes for real improvements in the upcoming races to extract further performance from a car that, for now, he believes is the fourth-fastest on track.
“I really hope that in the next race we will see positive changes, since in the first three races there’s been some deficit between both sides of the garage regarding certain elements of the car. For me, there’s been something that didn’t work, so it’s nice to know that, with what I had, this is the best result I could get,” Lewis Hamilton added.
“It will be interesting. I just hope to be a bit closer; I think right now we’re clearly the fourth-fastest team, and I think we’re a bit behind the others in terms of performance and downforce, so we have some work to do to close the gap. We’ll make slow progress with the car. It will be interesting to see when others receive updates for the season. We have a lot of work to do to close the gap with the top cars, which probably have 3 or 4 tenths on us, so we have a lot of work ahead.” – the seven-time Formula 1 world champion concluded.
