Eddie Irvine shares why Lewis Hamilton cannot ‘take it for granted’ that he’s back to his best

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Eddie Irvine refuses to categorically think that Lewis Hamilton is back to his best after scoring a podium for Ferrari in China, given Charles Leclerc “outclassed” him in Japan.

Hamilton finally secured his first Grand Prix podium as a Ferrari driver at the 26th attempt in the Chinese GP, when he came home in P3. The rostrum ended the longest podium drought of his Formula 1 career, too, after he failed to finish in the top three in the previous 27 races.

But Hamilton could not back up his first podium in red at the Japanese GP, as he finished the race in P6 for his worst finish of the 2026 F1 season so far. Leclerc got his second podium of the year with P3 at Suzuka, after his P3 in the Australian GP and then P4 in the Chinese GP.

Lewis Hamilton had ‘no confidence’ during FP2 in Japan 👀

How concerning is this regression for the Ferrari driver after his podium in China?

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Lewis Hamilton is not back to his best yet, as Charles Leclerc ‘outclassed’ him in Japan

Anthony Davidson felt Hamilton was “absolutely at his best” in the Chinese GP, as the seven-time champion smelt a chance to battle for the lead of a Grand Prix again. But former Ferrari driver Irvine feels Leclerc’s performance in Japan quickly softened Hamilton’s return to form.

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Irvine thinks Leclerc “outclassed” Hamilton throughout the Japanese GP weekend, as he was faster in every session. Leclerc was the lead Ferrari driver at Suzuka over Hamilton in FP1 by 0.085s, FP2 by 0.134s, FP3 by 0.154s, Q1 by 0.394s, Q2 by 0.286s and also Q3 by 0.162s.

He told Gazzetta dello Sport: “I wouldn’t take it for granted. In China, he got on the podium for the first time with Ferrari, but that’s his circuit. In Japan, however, he was outclassed by Charles Leclerc all weekend.”

Leclerc also fought eventual Japanese GP winner Andrea Kimi Antonelli before the safety car to recover Oliver Bearman’s Haas at Suzuka. Hamilton struggled to make any progress whilst stuck behind McLaren’s Lando Norris, and he eventually finished in P6 while Leclerc took P3.

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Leclerc’s P3 in Japan continued Ferrari’s run of securing a Grand Prix podium finish in each of the first three races of the 2026 F1 season. George Russell and Antonelli have so far given Mercedes every pole position, F1 Sprint win and Grand Prix victory this term between them.

Ferrari have not won a Grand Prix in fact since Carlos Sainz won the 2024 Mexico City GP at the tail end of his Scuderia stint, before being ousted for Hamilton in 2025. Irvine trusts that Ferrari will finally win a Grand Prix again in 2026, but he is not confident they will win many.

“It’s always very complicated for the red team,” Irvine added, regarding Ferrari’s chances of winning a title in 2026. “The problem is the distance from the F1 world, which is the United Kingdom. Compared to last year, however, I think they can achieve at least one win.”

Ferrari are still looking to win their first F1 drivers’ championship since Kimi Raikkonen won the 2007 title for the Scuderia’s 15th crown all-time. The Maranello crew have also not won the constructors’ title since 2008, when the Scuderia lifted the title for a record 16th time.