Hamilton’s concerning team radio in FP2 at Suzuka
It was not a great Friday for Ferrari in Japan, as the Maranello team seemed to be the third force on track. Leclerc and Hamilton were classified fifth and sixth respectively, at an important distance from McLaren’s Piastri, seven and eight tenths.
A radio outburst from Lewis Hamilton during FP2 did not go unnoticed, broadcast by the international broadcast: “I’m really slow because I don’t have confidence in the car”.
It will now be up to Ferrari to try to turn around a weekend that does not seem to have started on the right foot.
Read more At Suzuka McLaren begins to understand the engine. Ferrari must focus on pace
Ioverno reassures Hamilton
At the microphones of F1, Ferrari’s sporting director Diego Ioverno downplayed Hamilton’s radio observations: “As you know they completely redid the second part of the circuit and therefore it is very smooth. And it’s a key factor to ensure that the tires work. There were many mistakes, not only from our drivers, but also from others. As I said, there is work that we need to try to do and Lewis, hopefully, will gain confidence. Also Charles struggled a bit”.
Read more Hülkenberg: “Car performance satisfactory, we have a good base”
Ioverno then explained that he was not so surprised by McLaren’s resurgence: “For us it was a fairly straightforward session, without major surprises. Obviously there are some difficulties we need to resolve for tomorrow, but more or less it’s the picture we expected. McLaren? I think in qualifying trim or with low fuel, it was strong in the first two races too. So more or less we thought it would be. We’ll see as the weekend progresses if our work will give us an advantage over them”.
Read more Ferrari: no Macarena in Japan, but there are other updates
