Lewis Hamilton reveals Suzuka power loss cause following Ferrari investigation

Lewis Hamilton discovered that his mysterious loss of power at the Japanese Grand Prix could not be pinned on the Ferrari engine.

Rather, Hamilton said that the “systems all together” had caused him to lose “eight to nine tenths” in straight line power, having called out a lack of it compared to Charles Leclerc’s sister Ferrari.

Lewis Hamilton explains Ferrari systems issue behind Suzuka power loss

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Running sixth in the opening stint at Suzuka, Hamilton benefitted from the safety car timing, giving him a ‘free’ pit stop, and catapulting him up to the top three when he passed George Russell at the restart.

However, Hamilton, down on power, was later passed by Leclerc, Russell, and Lando Norris. He ultimately crossed the line sixth, as Leclerc completed the podium in third.

“I just struggled with power in the race. Some reason I was just down,” Hamilton said after the race.

“I was in a defense. I was defending the whole time. The guys all around me, just seemed to have more power today.

“So I need to try and understand why that is the case, whether my engine was down or what. I need to understand that.

“Somehow, Charles had more power than me today, in the same car. So I need to understand why that is. He did a good job to get to third place. But, yeah, lacking power.”

The one-month break between Japan and Miami allowed Hamilton and Ferrari to do some investigative work. It was discovered that the issue went beyond a power unit problem.

“I think it’s been good for everyone to step back and analyse their first three races,” said Hamilton as he spoke with PlanetF1.com and other accredited media ahead of the Miami Grand Prix.

“The last race, I could see I was down on power. We did a deep dive and understand that it wasn’t the engine, but the systems all together, several things coming together to lose me eight to nine tenths of straight-line power.

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“So we got on top of that, worked in the sim, been at the factory every week, training a huge amount, and refreshing for this weekend.”

Hamilton goes into the Miami GP sat fourth in the Drivers’ Championship standings, a position and eight points behind Leclerc.

Additional reporting by Thomas Maher

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