Total confidence in the team and in the technical project. Lewis Hamilton left no room for interpretation when speaking on Thursday in Suzuka, analyzing what went wrong in Shanghai and highlighting the impact of a wrong decision on the overall outcome of the Chinese Grand Prix weekend.
“I heard some nonsense,” he commented, “about me supposedly losing confidence in the team. I can say I believe 100% in this team. Obviously, there was a lot of hype at the start of the year. Many probably expected us to win immediately, right from the first race, but that was never my expectation.” – the British driver admitted.
“I’m integrating into a new culture, a new team, and it will take time. I’ve spent the past two months just observing how this team operates compared to the other two I’ve worked with before. Last week, I was able to take notes and highlight areas where I believe we can improve, and this process will continue throughout the year as we keep learning from each other.”
Regarding the Shanghai weekend, Lewis Hamilton revealed that a setup change made after his sprint race victory affected the car’s performance for the rest of the weekend.
“Probably, if we had left the car as it was, or if the change we made had actually been an improvement, we would have qualified in the top three,” Lewis explained. “But that wasn’t the case. From the moment I went out for qualifying, the car was very difficult to drive, and at that point, we knew it would stay that way until Sunday. Right now, I’m not leading my engineers. When I was at Mercedes, I knew the car and all the tools inside out, but this is a process I will complete.” – the seven-time Formula 1 world champion added.
Regarding his disqualification in Shanghai, Lewis Hamilton confirmed that he did not feel any particular contact that could have affected the floor of his car.
“Generally, during a race, you always try to avoid the bumpy areas of the track,” he clarified. “In Shanghai, coming out of Turn 13, the floor wasn’t even touching the asphalt—there wasn’t any bouncing or anything like that—so I had no warning signs. As for the disqualifications, we all know these cars are designed to the absolute limit in every parameter. Personally, I didn’t feel any frustration when I was informed. It is what it is.”
“We immediately looked ahead,” Lewis Hamilton concluded. “I was in Maranello on Wednesday and learned a lot. I’d say the most impressive thing was seeing how the team worked, how they processed the data, and how we prepared for this weekend. That’s the most important thing.” – the Ferrari man pointed out ahead of the Japanese Grand Prix weekend.
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