Former F1 World Champion Jacques Villeneuve says Ferrari “knows that they have trouble” after the frustrating start of the 2025 season.
Hamilton – in his first year with Scuderia after entering Mercedes, where he won seven world titles – qualified eighth for the Japanese Grand Prix and teammate Charles Leclerc fourth, two weeks after both disqualified from the Chinese Grand Prix.
Sprint’s victory in China was the highlight of Hamilton’s Stint Ferrari when he and Leclerc ended up on the 10th and eighth, respectively in the season opening the Australian Grand Prix and sit on single points before the Suzuka race.
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Watch the moment when it seemed that Williams’ Carlos Sainz blocks Lewis Hamilton during Q2 in Japan
Villeneuve, the 1997 World Champion with Williams, said Sky Sports F1: “They know they have trouble and do not know how to improve. They see the opposition will improve, so it doesn’t look good for Ferrari.”
Hamilton: It’s not good enough on my part
Hamilton was disappointed with his qualifying performance and said “not good enough on my part” when he ended up over six tenths behind the surprising pole Max Verstappen.
Driver Red Bull Verstappen Clouded From the leader of McLaren’s Lando Norris championship with a time of 1: 26,983, record in Lap in Suzuce.
Hamilton’s excessive loop wear led to its disqualification in China fourteen days ago And that was perhaps the reason Ferrari ran a higher car in Japan.
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The most important points of Saturday’s qualifying session when Max Verstappen caught a field position from Lando Norris
The British said after the qualification: “We run higher before I want, but everyone is on the same ship.
“Charles (Leclerc) did an amazing job. We went in different directions with the settings. I had a lot of non -contact and I couldn’t dial it.”
Leclerc: A large gap compared to McLaren and Red Bull
Asked if Ferrari’s driving height affects performance, Leclerc said: “We have some other problems, not especially with the driving height. I can’t go into detail too much.
“In the qualification, it started to leave us a little, especially in the fourth quarter. I had either a lot of overflowers or understeer, but I was really happy with it.
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Ted Kravitz from Sky F1 reflects all large speech points from qualification to Japanese Grand Prix
“We are returning (to the training on Friday) we really found something of my driving style that seems to work a little better and gave me much more confidence for the rest of the qualification.
“This is positive for the rest of the season (but) other problems can take a little longer. Compared to McLaren and Red Bull is still a big gap and that’s our goal.
“Overall, it was positive because I feel much more comfortable with the car.”
Sky Sports F1’s Live Japanese GP Schedule
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Here’s your Paddock Pass for the Japanese Grand Prix! Join Naomi Schiff when sharing a creeping look at Suzuka!
Sunday 6th April
- 4.30: Setup of Japanese GP: Sunday Grand Prix*
- 6:00: Japanese Grand Prix*
- 8:00: Japanese GP reaction: chessboard*
- 9:00: Ted’s notebook*
*Live also at the main Sky Sports event
The formula is this weekend on the Suzuka iconic circuit for the Japanese Grand Prix, Live On Sky Sports F1. Stream Sky Sports with now – no contract whenever cancel
