Lewis Hamilton Explains Poor Japanese GP 2025 Qualifying With Worrying Throwback to Mercedes Era Struggles

Lewis Hamilton's shock move to Ferrari was described as a dream come true by the seven-time Formula 1 world champion himself, but his struggles have continued on in the Japanese GP 2025. 

Hamilton could only qualify the car in P8, despite the fact that his teammate Charles Leclerc managed to get his Ferrari in a respectable P4. 

ALSO READ | Max Verstappen and Red Bull Race To Pole Position In Japan, Beat Out McLaren Duo Of Oscar Piastri And Lando Norris

And Hamilton's admission afterwards as to why he was struggling for pace will remind many of the woes he faced in his final season at Mercedes. 

"Yes, we are running higher than we would like, but I don’t know if everyone is in the same boat in that respect. Particularly, after the last race, we’re higher than we want to be. It’s usually the knock-on effect from a weekend like we had before," Hamilton told Sky Sports. 

Hamilton, it is worth noting, was disqualified from the Chinese GP 2025 due to excessive plank wear on his car, which comes about due to running the car too low. 

Keeping the ride height low maximises downforce but can make for a very uncomfortable ride and thus a minimum ride height is in place. 

Hamilton's Mercedes Woes Resurfaced

It is also a throwback to the issues that Hamilton faced in his final seasons at Mercedes which coincided with the start of the ground effect era in 2022. 

Hamilton's performances were up and down especially in qualifying as the Mercedes engineers tinkered with the car's ride height in a bid to find performance. 

It even led to Hamilton being comprehensively out-qualified by younger teammate George Russell in his final season at the Brackley-based outfit. 

Can Hamilton Bounce Back In The Race?

However, Hamilton is confident he can do better in the race - especially with rainy weather expected on Sunday. 

"It's going to be tricky, but usually when you have a qualifying like I just had, you hope it’s going to rain. So I hope that it stays," he said.

Max Verstappen claimed pole position in the Japanese GP, ahead of both McLaren's of Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri.