Lewis Hamilton will have been using the five-week Formula 1 race break to try and identify the cause of a problem affecting his Ferrari at the Japanese Grand Prix, one he described as “really confusing”.
The Brit has got off to a much more positive start in 2026, with a first podium in scarlet red at the second round in China.
Hamilton has also been able to narrow his personal gap to Leclerc, who was able to extract far more from the problematic SF-25 than him last season.
But in Japan, that old habit appeared to return, with Hamilton labouring to sixth place, losing out on fifth to Lando Norris, with Leclerc nabbing an impressive third place.
Hamilton has shown a significant upturn in enjoyment in his driving this year, which, he explained as far back as pre-season testing, was down to his personal input in the development of the SF-26.
However, he came away from Suzuka searching for answers as to why he apparently possessed less power than Leclerc.
“Even, somehow, Charles had more power than me in the same car,” Hamilton told media including Motorsport Week. “So I need to understand why that is.
“He did a good job to get to third place. But, yeah, lacking power from somewhere.”
Hamilton explained that, despite being able to sufficiently manage his tyres, there was a lingering sense of inability to keep up with the cars in front, as well as holding those behind up.
“I had a really good stint of managing the tyres and then just couldn’t — I didn’t have the pace to just keep up,” he continued. “It’s never fun when you’re just barely holding on to a pack.
“And then, when I got the fresh tyres, I still couldn’t; just power-wise, just couldn’t stay ahead of people, which was really confusing, so I need to try to understand.”
Hamilton will be hoping to benefit from the filming day Ferrari utilised to test new and existing parts of the SF-26, including the ‘Macarena wing’, which may return for the upcoming Miami Grand Prix.
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