Lewis Hamilton received a gut punch after the Chinese Grand Prix when the FIA announced his disqualification from the race due to a technical violation.
The Brit claimed his first victory for Ferrari in Shanghai during the sprint race, before struggling a bit more during the main race on his way to sixth place.
It means that Hamilton’s start to life as a Scuderia driver has been far from ideal. He sits just ninth in the drivers’ championship.
The Japanese Grand Prix represents an opportunity for him to pick up a more solid result. One point from two races was not part of the plan.
Hamilton has already changed his mind about Ferrari’s prospects and has hinted that he never expected to win straight away at his new team.
Ferrari are making one change to Hamilton’s car as they look to extract more performance from the SF25 in Suzuka. They need to find more speed.
READ MORE: Lewis Hamilton just admitted that he’s already repeated one Mercedes mistake at Ferrari
Ferrari lift Lewis Hamilton’s spirits with special Japanese Grand Prix gesture
The nature of flyaway Formula 1 races is that drivers have to spend a lot of time away from their families. For Hamilton, family includes his dog, Roscoe.
With Japan being on the other side of the world, Roscoe cannot be with him at all events. His team have considered this.
In their latest Instagram post, Hamilton’s mechanics can be seen gifting him a teddy version of Roscoe in the garage.
After a tough spell away from home, it may be the right thing needed to lift his spirits and motivate him to do well.
Ferrari have made a change Hamilton wanted at Mercedes by adjusting the steering wheel to his liking. It may bring extra performance with it.
The seven-time champion is a five-time winner in Japan. He often performs well there and he likes the track. All the ingredients are there for success this weekend.
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Why Fred Vasseur is angered by Lewis Hamilton’s Ferrari critics
At the age of 39, Hamilton still believes that he has plenty of years left in the tank. He has even joked that he could race to 50.
There were winter worries that having one of the best qualifiers in the sport as his teammate could be harmful to his reputation if his one-lap struggles continued, but he has been just fine so far.
Fred Vasseur has been angered by Hamilton’s Ferrari critics and believes that it is unfair for anyone to judge how much energy he has left.
From the outside, the Brit appears more motivated than ever to enjoy success. It doesn’t look like he is prepared to give up in his pursuit of an eighth drivers’ championship any time soon.
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