Lewis Hamilton bemoaned a “pretty terrible” Japanese Grand Prix as he dropped away off the rostrum positions within the latter phases of Sunday’s race to complete sixth.
Hamilton benefitted from a mid-race Security Automotive and overtook George Russell on the restart to enter third however was unable to carry off the Mercedes and his Ferrari team-mate Charles Leclerc.
Lando Norris then overtook Hamilton late on because the seven-time world champion struggled for tempo, seeing the chequered flag in the identical sixth place he began.
“Pretty terrible ultimately because I was P3 and I ended up going backwards. I just need to understand where I was losing all the power,” he informed Sky Sports activities F1.
“I had an actual lack of energy, notably within the second stint, however even at the start I could not sustain with folks simply by means of an absence of energy.
“I don’t understand this. I’m full gas, managing where I’m asked to manage and for some reason just lacking power, so I need to figure out if there’s something wrong with the car or not. Still, we got some points.”
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Highlights from the 2026 Japanese Grand Prix
It was Hamilton’s trickiest weekend thus far after ending fourth in Australia and claiming his first Ferrari podium on the Chinese language Grand Prix.
However, the 41-year-old trailed team-mate Leclerc all through the weekend in Suzuka and was left confused about his lack of tempo.
“I love being in Japan, I’ve generally enjoyed driving. It’s just, as I said, I just really got trying to understand,” he stated.
“I had a really good stint of managing the tyres and then just didn’t have the pace to just keep up. And it’s never fun when you’re just barely holding onto a pack. And when I got the fresh tyres, I still couldn’t.
“I simply could not. Simply power-wise, I could not keep forward of individuals, which was actually complicated. I want to know.”
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Charles Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton narrowly escape a collision in a detailed overtake on the Japanese Grand Prix
Leclerc: Mercedes nonetheless have ‘massive benefit’
Leclerc bounced again from shedding out in the course of the Security Automotive by popping out on high in thrilling battles towards Russell and Hamilton to make sure he stays third within the Drivers’ Championship, albeit 23 factors behind Kimi Antonelli.
Even with the battling, Leclerc completed lower than two seconds behind second-placed Piastri, who took his first podium of the season.
“Second place was maybe on the cards but I think we extracted the maximum we could,” stated Leclerc.
“With the Security Automotive we have been unfortunate, Oscar had a little bit of air to breathe and possibly he was a bit nicer along with his tyres. I needed to push immediately, which was a little bit difficult.
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Sky Sports activities F1’s Simon Lazenby sits down with Charles Leclerc because the Ferrari driver displays on his first podium of the 2026 season and shares why he feels a championship is likely to be nearer than ever
“I don’t regret much. I think it was still a good race. Are we as fast as the Mercedes? I don’t think so. They still have a big advantage. It’s up to us to try and change that situation.”
He added: “The Mercedes power units have a big advantage over us at the moment. This is a focus but we must not forget that there are huge gains in developing the chassis, the aerodynamics, putting the tyres in the right window.
“The engine we won’t change anyway however at the moment we have to enhance all the things across the automotive.”
F1 returns on May 1-3 with the Miami Grand Prix, the season’s second Sprint weekend, live on Sky Sports F1. Stream Sky Sports activities with NOW – no contract, cancel anytime
