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Lewis Hamilton had worked his way into a podium position in Japan before a power deficit he could not explain cost him everything. He crossed the line sixth. The frustration in his voice after the race was obvious.
From Third to Sixth
Hamilton started sixth and drove his way up to third by the time the safety car came out following the Bearman crash. When racing resumed, he had no answer for the cars around him. Charles Leclerc, George Russell, and Lando Norris all passed him and he dropped to sixth, unable to defend against drivers who clearly had more power available.
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Hamilton Cannot Explain the Gap to Leclerc
He was honest with the media after the race about what he experienced. "I just struggled with my power during the race. For some reason I just was not strong enough. I had to defend. I was defending the whole time. The guys around me just seemed to have more power today."
What caused the problem is still unknown, and Hamilton acknowledged that openly. "So I need to try to understand why that is, whether my engine gave up or what exactly was going on. I need to understand that. Somehow Charles had more power than me today, in the same car. So I need to figure out how that happened. He did well to finish third. But yes, power was lacking."
The fact that Leclerc was third while Hamilton was sixth, in identical machinery, is the detail that requires an answer. Whether it was a hardware issue, a settings problem, or something in how the car was prepared for race day, the team will need to find out before the next round.
Not Everything Was Negative
Hamilton was careful not to let the power problem overshadow what had been a largely positive weekend in terms of his own driving. "I love being in Japan. I have generally enjoyed the driving. It is just, as I said, I just do not fully understand it yet. I had a very good period where I was managing my tyres well, but then I simply did not have the pace to keep up anymore. And it is never fun when you are just about hanging onto a group. And even on new tyres I still could not manage it." The weekend had promise. The race delivery did not match it, and the reason why is something Ferrari will be working to understand over the coming weeks.
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