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Lewis Hamilton’s performance at the Japanese Grand Prix was compromised due to his lack of understanding of Ferrari’s battery.
After his P6 finish at Suzuka, Hamilton went off on Ferrari over the battery issues that led to his worst finish this season.
Hamilton made his frustration clear on the radio, noting how unhappy he was with Ferrari over the issues, especially compared to the lack of issues Charles Leclerc experienced en route to another podium finish.
Lewis Hamilton had ‘no confidence’ during FP2 in Japan 👀
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Fred Vasseur isn’t concerned about Hamilton and Leclerc’s potential battle, noting that both drivers are professional enough to keep things civil between the two.
However, Leclerc’s performance had little to do with Lewis Hamilton’s issues at Suzuka, as Jolyon Palmer believes it came down to an understanding of the Ferrari power unit.
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Jolyon Palmer claims Lewis Hamilton’s Japanese GP struggles showed Ferrari’s ‘deficit’ to Mercedes
Speaking on the F1 Nation podcast, Jolyon Palmer noted that Lewis Hamilton had a great deal of stress when trying to navigate Ferrari’s tricky power unit and the battery deployment.
While Palmer did see Hamilton struggle at Suzuka, he did admit that Ferrari’s gaps in knowledge with their own power unit, compared to Mercedes, are costing the team.
“Lewis was struggling in Japan with understanding the energy deployment. So going quicker through the corner, slower on the straights, and losing lap time…
“Lewis in the race was really struggling to work out the balance of speed through the corners versus having battery to having energy to use on the straight.
“So, the actual hardware, I’m sure, there’s a good performance deficit. But maybe there is a little bit more for Ferrari to just understand about that power unit anyway, to close the gap.”
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Lewis Hamilton hoping upgrades can help Ferrari address issues
There is a concern that Leclerc’s team understands the battery better than Hamilton’s, and that has caused him to struggle in comparison to his Monegasque teammate.
As things stand, Ferrari are set to conduct private tests during the current season hiatus to address what areas need improvement.
With a focus now on the Miami Grand Prix, Ferrari are making engine software upgrades coming into the race in May.
Add to that an upgrade to Ferrari’s Macarena wing, and Hamilton will have a massively improved car in time for the season’s resumption.
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