Lewis Hamilton fans implore him to stop doing one ’embarrassing’ thing, he’s proving Lando Norris right

Lewis Hamilton qualified a disappointing eighth for the Japanese Grand Prix on Saturday. The margin to teammate Charles Leclerc was the biggest it’s been all season.

Hamilton converted Sprint pole in China to secure his first win in Ferrari colours, but has struggled since. He crossed the line sixth on Sunday in Shanghai and was then disqualified for excessive plank wear.

Barring rain, the seven-time world champion may struggle to improve on that result in Suzuka after ending up on the fourth row. He was outpaced by Racing Bulls driver Isack Hadjar and Mercedes replacement Kimi Antonelli.

In fact, Hamilton was only five-thousandths ahead of Alex Albon in the Williams. Leclerc was more than three-tenths quicker in the sister car.

Lewis Hamilton fans want to stop experimenting with his set-up after Japanese Grand Prix blow

Speaking to Sky Sports after qualifying, Hamilton applauded his teammate’s performance. Leclerc apparently made the right calls on car balance, avoiding the understeer that hurt the sister car.

“Charles did an amazing lap today,” Hamilton said. “We went in different directions with the setup up and I had a lot of understeer and couldn’t dial it out.”

Responding to these remarks, Hamilton’s fans expressed their frustration. One told him to ‘leave the car alone please’, while another said ‘stick to the good set-up, what are they [Ferrari] doing?’.

On the other hand, Hamilton was told that it’s ‘on him’ if he’s diverging from Leclerc, who has been with Ferrari since 2019. The explanation was labelled ’embarrassing’.

Finally, a supporter of the 40-year-old said set-up mistakes are ‘his trademark’ nowadays and warned him that ‘sometimes better is the enemy is good’. Hamilton may be repeating his Mercedes errors, having made similar comments on multiple occasions in 2024.

Lando Norris was right to flag up one problem for Lewis Hamilton and Ferrari

In an interview ahead of the Japanese Grand Prix, McLaren driver Lando Norris declared that they are the only team ‘with two good drivers at the minute’ (via The Race). Clarifying his remarks, he explained that ‘Lewis is new to the Ferrari’.

As a result, he’s not yet able to ‘get every last bit out of it’. Hamilton certainly proved his compatriot right in qualifying, and he may not be able to maximise the SF-25 consistently until he hits on the optimal balance – a process that takes time.

F1 fans voted Ferrari’s line-up as the best in a winter poll. But they may not be able to display their full strength just yet.

Ted Kravitz says Ferrari called Hamilton to an emergency meeting after China. They are running the car higher this weekend, compromising its aerodynamic performance, to avoid further trouble with the FIA.