Lewis Hamilton issues worrying Ferrari verdict after first laps at Japanese Grand Prix
Lewis Hamilton was far from impressed with his Ferrari during the opening practice sessions for this weekend's Japanese Grand Prix.
After a two week break, F1 is back on track this weekend at Suzuka with Mercedes looking to stretch out their advantage in both the constructor and driver championships.
George Russell and Kimi Antonelli shared the opening two Grands Prix wins, but Ferrari have proved to be a tough challenge on both occasions with both Charles Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton proving they can race the silver arrows.
Ferrari sit 49 points clear of third placed McLaren in the 2026 standings, however, that gap could be set to come down in Japan if the first practices are anything to go by.
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McLaren's Lando Norris followed the two Mercedes in practice one, while Oscar Piastri topped the entire session in second practice, 0.092 seconds ahead of Kimi Antonelli.
While Piastri's gap to the Mercedes was incredibly minimal, the Australian was over seven tenths faster than Leclerc's lead Ferrari in sixth, with Hamilton falling a further tenth behind his teammate.
Hamilton 'not confident' in Ferrari at Suzuka
The Scuderia could only manage as high as fifth across the two sessions, and Hamilton in particular was far from impressed with his car's performance.
"I'm very slow because I've got no confidence in the car,” the Brit said over team radio.
Hamilton was also involved in an impeding incident with Max Verstappen in the opening session, however, stewards opted against taking action following an investigation.
Speaking after the day of running, Hamilton detailed his struggles, but remained confident the team can turn the car around ahead of qualifying.
"Well, I mean, we'll work on it," he told the media.
"I think it's just the way of this track, you know, it's a massively demanding circuit.
“It's amazing to drive, but getting the right balance, and I think, interestingly, there's something, I think it's just something in how this car is set up.
"There's kind of some similarities to what I felt last year, so we're just working on that.
"So I'm confident overnight we can find something and get it to a better place, but it's an awesome circuit, you need to be able to sit on the rear and be comfortable that it's going to stay with you.
"I just can't seem to match the other guys, so I think we'll do a deep dive tonight," he added.
Tom Jenkins