Lewis Hamilton is gunning for his first Sunday podium as a Ferrari driver at this weekend’s Japanese Grand Prix. A victory is the dream, of course, but that doesn’t necessarily look realistic.
Instead, Ferrari will look to be the closest challengers to McLaren, as opposed to Red Bull or Mercedes. The Woking outfit have won both races so far and appear to be two-to-three-tenths ahead of the pack.
Hamilton won his first race in Ferrari colours last time out in China as he authoritatively converted a surprise Sprint pole. However, he took the wrong set-up direction for the remainder of the weekend and crossed the line sixth in the Grand Prix.
He was later disqualified for excessive plank wear, while Charles Leclerc’s car was found to be underweight. Ferrari’s former president was ‘appalled’ by their double DSQ, a first in their 1,100-race history.
The result is that Hamilton arrives at Suzuka ninth in the championship, already 35 points off the leader Lando Norris. He’s won twice at the iconic circuit, but hasn’t stood on the podium since 2019.
Lewis Hamilton backtracks on Ferrari ambitions before Japanese Grand Prix
Speaking on Japanese Grand Prix media day, Hamilton suggested he never expected ‘to win from the get-go’ at Ferrari. Thus, his Sprint victory in Shanghai was something of a bonus.
However, Ted Kravitz noticed an inconsistency with the 40-year-old’s pre-season remarks. In an interview with the sport’s official website, he’d said that Ferrari already had ‘every ingredient they need to win a world championship’.
He did add that they needed to put ‘the pieces together’, but one would assume he expected to be in victory contention from the outset if the title was his goal. Perhaps Ferrari’s disappointing start has led him to backtrack.
“Lewis said ‘there was a lot of hype earlier in the season, and it’s important to remember I didn’t expect to win from the get-go’,” Kravitz said on his ‘Podbook’.
“Is that easier for Lewis to say now that he’s won a race with Ferrari from the get-go?
“He never did say that, but he did say that ‘we have everything we need to win races’. That’s something he definitely said pre-season.”
Ferrari have made key discovery about Lewis Hamilton’s car pre-Suzuka
Hamilton may have made the same realisation as Michael Schumacher, who said in 1999 that it takes time to achieve greatness. Ferrari came within 14 points of the title last season but have made worrying strategic and operational errors this term.
The encouraging thing for Hamilton is that he outperformed Leclerc on Friday and Saturday in China. When the car is there, he should be able to maximise it – and that wasn’t a given in light of his 2024 form.
After conducting simulator tests in the two-week break, Ferrari discovered a suspension issue. They will introduce new settings in Japan and are optimistic about unlocking more performance.
The Scuderia took the gamble of making fundamental changes to their car over the winter, even though they were so close to McLaren. In that sense, it’s not a surprise that they’re still working to fully understand the SF-25.
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