Source: REUTERS/MANAMI YAMADA
[Saba Sports News] Seven-time F1 World Champion Lewis Hamilton admitted after the Japanese Grand Prix that his Ferrari SF-25 car has a “performance-defect part.” This rare technical revelation explains why he has consistently been unable to defeat teammate Charles Leclerc in three races and reveals the truth behind Ferrari’s struggle as the “fourth fastest team.” Hamilton revealed that this part has cost him at least 0.3 seconds per lap. Although Hamilton won the sprint race in China, he trailed Leclerc in the Australian, Chinese, and Japanese Grands Prix, and was further outperformed by Mercedes’ George Russell and 18-year-old rookie Andrea Kimi Antonelli at Suzuka. Insiders revealed that the faulty part is related to the rear suspension geometry, causing the car to be extremely unstable at the rear during high-speed corners, which was the key to the disaster at the Suzuka circuit’s S curve. With the back-to-back Bahrain Grand Prix approaching, Hamilton’s warning is increasingly harsh: “Upgrades? Fix the defects first.” Because of this implication, the Maranello factory may be forced to put the originally planned major upgrades on hold and prioritize solving basic reliability issues. This sudden technical crisis casts a shadow over Hamilton’s dream of chasing his eighth title before it even takes off.