Lewis Hamilton fans worried Ferrari are stopping him from showing his ‘true pace’ after Japanese Grand Prix comments

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Lewis Hamilton and Ferrari headed into the current triple-header of races knowing that things couldn’t get any worse than their previous performance.

After the double disqualification of Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc in China, the Japanese Grand Prix offered both drivers another opportunity to try and optimise the SF-25’s performance and close the gap to McLaren.

The constructors’ championship didn’t make for comfortable reading for Ferrari team principal Fred Vasseur heading into the race weekend.

They were level on points with Williams and both drivers had only just snuck into the top 10 of the drivers’ standings.

Hamilton’s brilliant performance in the Sprint Race in China feels like a distant memory, with both drivers still yet to finish on the podium during a Grand Prix.

Leclerc’s P4 finish was the best result for a Ferrari driver so far this year, and they’ve finally leapfrogged Williams in the championship as a result.

However, Hamilton couldn’t chase down his replacement at Mercedes, Andrea Kimi Antonelli, on softer tyres and after the race, he wasn’t happy with his car or his performance.

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Lewis Hamilton apologises after identifying ‘deficit’ in his Ferrari

After coming home in P7 – his best Grand Prix result as a Ferrari driver so far – Hamilton said on the team radio: “Sorry for that result guys. Didn’t have the pace today but I’m grateful you’re continuing to push. Next race will be better.”

In his media session, Hamilton elaborated on the difficulties he faced and explained: “I’m really hoping in the next race we’ll see, hopefully, some positive changes. Through the first three races, there’s been a bit of a deficit between both sides of the garage on some elements of the car.

“On my side, underperforming. So it’s good to know. With what I had that is the best result I could get. My pace, I think, was maximum today. I didn’t have anything else in the car.

“Underperformance happening at the rear of the car this weekend, and obviously qualifying position is key. But I think I probably would have been overtaken by Mercedes if I were any further ahead.

“I’m hoping the next race we will be closer. It will definitely be interesting for sure.

“I just hope we’re a little bit closer, but I think we are probably the fourth fastest at the moment, and I think we are a little bit off the other guys in terms of performance, downforce level-wise.

“So we’ve got some work to do to close the gap.”

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Lewis Hamilton fans concerned about Ferrari have done to his car this season

Unsurprisingly, the reaction to Hamilton’s comments, both in the car and to journalists at Suzuka, hasn’t gone down well.

There was a mixture of responses, with some blaming Ferrari for his performances, while others are worried that the team’s season could already be over.

One comment said, “And some of his “fans” are blaming him again. Lewis showed us in the sprint that he is still the best. When Ferrari will fix those issues, then we will see his true pace again.”

Another comment read, “He probably meant a broken component. Nobody thinks Ferrari is sabotaging Lewis.”

One fan asked others to calm down and suggested, “Everyone running around with the sabotage narrative needs to calm down. It could be something that’s broken, and he’s been driving with it and he will get a new one in Bahrain.

“Hopefully they find a solution for Bahrain. We really [need] a good weekend,” read one response, while another explained, “As soon as he swapped tyres to medium, he lost ground to Antonelli and the front of the grid.

“He was almost a second slower compared to the Mercedes, and the same goes for Charles in the first sector, where he was losing half a second to Max, McLaren, and Mercedes.”

Finally, the seriousness of the situation dawned on another commenter, who added, “Now one thing is clear, if Ferrari’s floor upgrade in Bahrain doesn’t get them to podium contention at least, this season’s over.”

Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc are running out of time to challenge for 2025 F1 championship

It’s understandable that Hamilton’s fans aren’t happy with Ferrari’s start to the season.

After testing, it looked like Ferrari were in contention to challenge McLaren, Mercedes and Max Verstappen, but ultimately, that hasn’t happened.

Hamilton was spotted getting frustrated in Japan, and considering he joined Ferrari to become an eight-time world champion, that’s understandable.

Ferrari’s mechanics tried to lift Hamilton’s spirits during the race weekend, but that’s easier said than done.