Lewis Hamilton faced significant challenges during the Japanese Grand Prix, finishing in seventh place and expressing his disappointment over the race outcome. Despite gaining one position from his eighth-place start, the Briton struggled with underperformance issues in the rear of his Ferrari, a problem he hopes the team can resolve soon. Hamilton pointed to the absence of a safety car as a crucial factor that impacted his race strategy at Suzuka.
“I was maximum today. I didn’t have anything else in the car,” Hamilton stated, emphasizing the difficulties faced during the race weekend. Running higher than the team preferred, due to an earlier disqualification in China, impacted the car’s aerodynamics negatively. This change, compounded by missing the advantage of a safety car, left Hamilton feeling at a disadvantage in a race that demanded strong qualifying positions.
The absence of a safety car was a particular setback for Ferrari’s strategy, which had factored its appearance into their plans for their new driver. Hamilton remarked, “There was no safety car, so it didn’t really make much difference. I think the medium was definitely better for the start of the race, especially in these cool conditions.”
Hamilton’s Performance and Positive Outlook
Despite the challenges, Hamilton managed to overtake Racing Bulls’ Isack Hadjar, one of the few drivers to achieve an overtake on Sunday. He expressed satisfaction with his forward progress, noting, “I’m very happy I moved forward. I’m really hoping in the next race we’ll see, hopefully, some positive changes.” The team’s current performance remains a concern, as Hamilton identifies a noticeable deficit in the pace of his side of the garage.
Hamilton reflected candidly on Ferrari’s current standing, “I think we’re probably the fourth-fastest, clearly, at the moment. I think we are a little bit off the other guys in terms of performance – downforce level-wise – so we’ve got some work to do to close the gap.” The disparity in performance with leading teams underscores the need for upgrades and improvements to the Scuderia machine.
Strategic Insights and Future Improvements
Looking ahead, Hamilton highlighted the significance of upcoming upgrades to bridge the performance gap with top competitors. He emphasized, “We will slowly progress the car. It’ll be interesting to see when people get upgrades for the season.” Acknowledging the work required to match the top cars, he added, “The top guys probably have three or four-tenths on us, so we’ve got a lot of work to bring upgrades for that.” However, the timeline for these enhancements remains uncertain, as Hamilton admitted, “They don’t know.”
As the season progresses, Lewis Hamilton remains focused on overcoming strategy woes and rear-end issues, aiming for future improvements that will enable Ferrari to vie more competitively with the leading teams.
