Lewis Hamilton, Red Alert: Multi-time world champion lays bare a limitation of Ferrari

If Charles Leclerc had let loose over the radio to a harsh outburst on issues more regulatory than related to the qualities in itself of his Ferrari, Lewis Hamilton goes further and, in front of the microphones in the mixed zone in Suzuka, admits the limitations of the SF-26 against a Mercedes that also in Japan proved, in qualifying, unreachable. Interviewed by ‘Sky Sport F1’, in particular, the seven-time world champion expressed a particularly harsh judgment on the Redhead.

“We cannot blame this gap only on the power unit – admitted Hamilton, who will start in sixth position in Sunday’s GP behind Antonelli, Russell, Piastri, Leclerc and Norris -. Certainly the discourse related to energy management counts, but whoever is in front has shown to be superior even in the first sector: it means that at the level of pure performance we are inferior. We have to make up a huge gap if we want to play for it, it won’t be easy.”

A dry judgment from Hamilton, a far cry from the optimism-laden words following the weekend in China, where the Ferrarista had taken third place both in the Sprint Race and, more importantly, in Sunday’s GP, returning to the podium of a Grand Prix for the first time since the Las Vegas GP of 2024, when he finished in second place at the wheel of the Mercedes. In Japan, in addition to the Anglo-German stable, there is also McLaren ahead of the number 44, which in Saturday’s qualifying could do nothing but defend itself.

Lewis Hamilton, in his second year at Ferrari, is still looking for his first seal: podium number 203 in his career, obtained in Shanghai, certainly gave him morale but it is he himself, as well as the fans and insiders, who expect more from a still very long season, which could reserve many surprises also in the light of the forced break in April in which some rules of the new regulations could be reevaluated by the Federation.