Despite qualifying seventh for Sunday’s Japanese Grand Prix, Lewis Hamilton expressed satisfaction with the performance of his Mercedes car, stating that his feeling within the vehicle was the best he’s had in three seasons.
Mercedes has struggled to keep pace with Red Bull and Max Verstappen since the introduction of F1’s current technical regulations at the start of 2022.
This season, the team has faced another slow start to the championship, with Hamilton collecting just eight points from the opening three races.
However, he noted that the feeling within the car was significantly better in Japan compared to the first three races and the preceding two seasons.
Lewis Hamilton Mercedes Car at Japanese GP (Credits: Getty Images)
“It’s been a night-and-day different weekend so far, just in terms of how comfortable I feel in the car,” Hamilton remarked.
“I think we did a really good job over this past week, the analysis everyone has done at the factory how we can get the car in the sweet spot, the car’s been much nicer to drive this weekend, especially at a track like this where you need a nice balance. This is the nicest it’s felt over the last three years.”
Reflecting on the performance, Hamilton highlighted the improvements made compared to last year’s event at Suzuka.
“I think last year [at Suzuka] we were over a second off, I think 0.7s today, and I’m not trying all these random different things, so just focused on making sensible setup changes, and I think it’s worked. But I was hoping we’d be further ahead.”
Lewis Hamilton at Japanese GP (Credits: Japanese Grand Prix)
While acknowledging the competitive gap with Red Bull, Hamilton emphasized his satisfaction with his qualifying performance, especially in comparison to his teammate George Russell.
He emphasized that the focus is on maximizing the car’s potential rather than engaging in intra-team competition.
“We’re not fighting for a championship, we’re just trying to get the best out of the car so it doesn’t make any difference to me,” he clarified.
“I’m just happier with a cleaner qualifying session and a car that I’m starting to feel like I can lean on more, and that’s a real positive.”
