Formula 1 had a complicated weekend for Lewis Hamilton at the 2026 Japanese GP, with the driver reporting power issues that compromised his performance. The Briton stated that he was unable to fight with direct rivals throughout the race.
Read more F1: Bearman’s heavy crash causes Safety Car in Japan
Even after gaining positions during the race, Hamilton was unable to maintain the pace and finished in exactly the same position where he started. The result reflected the difficulties faced mainly after the safety car intervention.
The decisive moment came after Oliver Bearman’s accident, when the Ferrari driver reached second position. However, throughout the final laps, he lost performance and dropped to sixth place.
According to Hamilton, the main limitation was the lack of power compared to competitors. “It was a very average weekend for me. I had difficulties with power during the race for some reason, it was down,” he stated.
The seven-time champion highlighted that he spent a large part of the race just defending. “I was trying to defend myself the whole time, the cars around me seemed to have more power today. I need to understand if the problem was in the engine or something else,” he explained.
Another point that drew attention was the direct comparison with his teammate. Charles Leclerc, who finished in third place, showed superior performance even with the same equipment.
Read more F1: Antonelli wins after decisive Safety Car in the Japanese GP
“It wasn’t even a great battle, somehow even Charles had more power than me today. We have the same car, so I need to understand why that is,” he said.
Despite the difficulties, Hamilton stated that he managed to take good care of the tires at certain moments of the race. Even so, the lack of straight-line performance prevented any more consistent reaction.
“I was managing the tires well, but I simply didn’t have the pace to keep up. It’s not pleasant at all when you’re just trying to stay in the pack,” he commented.
Even after the tire changes, the scenario did not change. “When I put on new tires, I still couldn’t do it. In terms of power, I couldn’t hold off the other cars, which was very confusing,” he concluded.
The performance in Japan reinforces the need for investigation by the team to understand the origin of the loss of performance, especially in direct comparison with his teammate in Formula 1 2026.
Read more F1 today? Check the schedule and where to watch the 2026 Japanese GP
