Lewis Hamilton Admits P7 in Japan was the "Maximum" Result Possible

Nelson Espinal | Apr 6, 2025

Nov 23, 2024; Las Vegas, Nevada, USA; Mercedes AMG Petronas driver Lewis Hamilton (44) is introduced before the Las Vegas Grand Prix at Las Vegas Circuit. Mandatory Credit: Gary A. Vasquez-Imagn Images / Gary A. Vasquez-Imagn Images

Lewis Hamilton had a quiet race at the Japanese Grand Prix, finishing a modest P7 after starting the race at P8.

Ferrari and Hamilton decided to start on the hard tire, while most of the grid opted for the medium tire at the beginning.

The strategy's hope, according to Hamilton, was to either rely on a safety car or for the hard tire to perform well early on; however, unfortunately for him, it did not make much of a difference.

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"At the end obviously there was no safety car so it didn't really make much difference," Hamilton said after the race.

"I think the medium was definitely better for the start of the race, especially in these poor conditions."

"I'm happy I moved forwards"

Let’s get this show on the road 🟢

Formation lap underway! pic.twitter.com/ReEO503SCd

— Scuderia Ferrari HP (@ScuderiaFerrari) April 6, 2025

"I'm really hoping in the next race we'll see hopefully some positive changes."

"Through the first three races there's been a bit of a deficit between both sides of the garage on my side something on the performing, so it's good to know with what I had that's the best results I could get."

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Hamilton believed he had maximized the car's potential, a feat that will build momentum as he integrates into the Ferrari team.

"I mean my pace I think considering, I have to go and check, but as I said I was maximum today," he said.

"I didn't have anything else in the car."

"What under-performance happening at the rear of the car this weekend, and obviously qualifying position is key."

"I think I probably would have been overtaken by McLaren's Mercedes if I was any further ahead."

Lap 31/53: @LewisHamilton makes his stop!

A speedy 2.2 seconds later he’s back on track on the mediums 🟡 pic.twitter.com/XFXmtk5RvP

— Scuderia Ferrari HP (@ScuderiaFerrari) April 6, 2025

"But yeah, I'm hoping in the next race we somehow can get a bit closer."

"I think we're probably the fourth fastest clearly at the moment, and I think we are a little bit off the other guys in terms of performance, downforce level wise, so we've got some work to do to close the gap."

"Mercedes are faster than us, so that's why you saw them so close to Charles."

"They just have more pace than us at the moment."

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Unfortunately for both Ferrari drivers, upgrades are not expected to arrive at the Bahrain Grand Prix, according to Hamilton.

Despite the lack of upgrades, Hamilton remains optimistic that the team can perform better at the next race.

"We will slowly progress the car, it'll be interesting to see when people get upgrades over the season, we've got a lot of work to be able to close the gap to the top guys, they've probably got three or four tenths on it, so we've got a lot of work to create upgrades for them," Hamilton said.

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