Lewis Hamilton radio message reveals ‘confidence’ issues with Ferrari car

Lewis Hamilton said he had “no confidence in the car” after failing to crack the top five of both free practice sessions on the opening day of the Japanese Grand Prix.

2026 has up until now been a positive one for Hamilton who looked to have shaken the cloud that had followed him the past few years but the first bump in the road has come at Suzuka with the driver remarking that he felt “similarities” to last year.

Lewis Hamilton reflects on tricky first day at Suzuka

Having been on the podium last time out, Hamilton finished sixth in both FP1 and FP2 and a radio message revealed his issue with the car:

“I am very slow because I have no confidence in the car,” Hamilton told his race engineer.

After he was out of the seat, Hamilton was asked about his day’s running and admitted there was “similarity” to what he felt last year but was more optimistic about Ferrari’s ability to solve it.

“It’s just the way of this track, it’s a massively demanding circuit,” he said. “Amazing to drive but getting the right balance, I think it’s just something in how this car is set up.

“Some similarities to what I felt last year. We’re just working on that, so I’m confident overnight we can find something and get it to a better place.”

As for how Suzuka tests the car, Hamilton said you need to be confident with the rear in order to maximise lap time.

“It’s an awesome circuit but you need to be able to sit on the rear and be comfortable that it’s going to stay with you, and today I had the snaps. I just can’t seem to match the other guys.

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“We’ll do a deep dive tonight, get some interesting readings from the simulator but I feel like I’ve got a bit of a North Star, it’s just how do we get there. [We’re] going to try and figure that out.

“There is more potential in the car, it’s just figuring out how to unlock that. That’s what we’ve got to focus on.”

Charles Leclerc, who finished one spot ahead of Hamilton in both sessions, also said it had been a tricky day for the team.

“It was a more tricky day for us as a team, compared to the last two races, but it’s only the first day of the weekend,” he said.

“Our race pace seems to be good so far, although there is still quite a gap to the front runners. Our focus going forward will be on working on the qualifying performance for tomorrow.”

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