Lewis Hamilton has indicated that his Ferrari SF-25 is now experiencing a serious problem that he believes is affecting his performance.
He is 0-2 in grand prix against Charles Leclerc. He also finished behind the Monaco in China before both cars were disqualified. He did, however, win a sprint race at the Shanghai International Circuit after winning pole position.
Hamilton is also approximately two-tenths of a second slower on average than Leclerc in qualifying as he adjusts to the new Ferrari systems and characteristics after switching from Mercedes.
Hamilton acknowledged a severe problem with his car after finishing 13 seconds and three spots behind fourth-placed Leclerc in Suzuka.
Although he did not go into detail, the seven-time Formula One champion stated that Ferrari is already preparing an upgrade package for Bahrain to alleviate the situation.
“I did the best I could, we are generally lacking performance compared to the cars ahead, the Mercedes, the McLaren and obviously the Red Bull,” Hamilton told F1 television station Sky.
“We found something on the car that has been underperforming for the last three races, so I’m hoping that once that is corrected, I’ll be able to perform better.
“But I’m losing little over a tenth each lap due to the difficulty we’re having, so I’m hopeful it’ll be fixed by the next race. Obviously, qualifying is critical, but I haven’t been able to get the most out of the tyres, so something is going on.
“The crew is aware of it; they don’t know what caused it or why, but they hope that when the new component arrives, it will be gone and the same across both cars.
“Considering that, I’m relatively happy with my race, considering what I had.”
