Lewis Hamilton revealed Ferrari has identified a problem with its car which it intends to fix following his seventh-placed finish at Suzuka.
As the first driver on the grid to start the race on the hard rubber, Hamilton pursued an alternative strategy to many of those around him. That gave him the opportunity to spend more of the race in clearer air than his rivals did.
He wasn’t happy with his pace, however, and repeatedly asked his race engineer Riccardo Adami for information on where he was losing time and how to gain it.
In his third grand prix for Ferrari, Hamilton’s relationship with his engineer appears to be working more smoothly, but he is still learning how to get the best from the Ferrari and how to tune it to his liking.
Hamilton’s Japanese Grand Prix radio messages
Stint 1: Hard
Stint 2: Medium
Finish
Stint 1: Hard
Hamilton started the race on hard tyres and managed to avoid losing a position to those around him who opted for the softer medium compound.
| Lap: 1/53 HAM: 1’40.279 |
| Adami | Albon 0.2 behind. |
| Lap: 2/53 HAM: 1’35.275 |
| Adami | DRS enabled. Albon 0.6 behind. |
| Adami | B-bal 58, suggested, five eight. |
| Lap: 3/53 HAM: 1’34.254 |
| Adami | We suggest right toggle turn one. Albon 0.9 behind. |
| Lap: 4/53 HAM: 1’34.147 |
| Adami | Pace is good. Charles lap time 34.1. Verstappen, race leader, 33.6. All on mediums. |
He gained a place early on from Isack Hadjar. This was one of few on-track passes which occured during the race.
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| Lap: 6/53 HAM: 1’33.941 |
| Adami | Hadjar runs slightly wide in Spoon, Hamilton passes him with DRS on the pit straight
Well done. And push less the entry turn nine, push less the entry. |
| Adami | You have completed lap six. |
| Hamilton | Need more support in turn 13. |
| Adami | Understood. |
| Lap: 7/53 HAM: 1’34.139 |
| Adami | Right toggle turn 13 for more support, for rear support. |
| Hamilton | Where am I losing? |
| Lap: 8/53 HAM: 1’33.912 |
| Adami | Yeah, I’ll come back to you and you’re doing a good job with tyres, keep doing that. |
| Adami | Focus exit nine, eight and nine to improve for pace. |
| Lap: 10/53 HAM: 1’33.522 |
| Adami | And no rain expected for the next half an hour. |
| Adami | Good lap times now. Catch on Antonelli. |
| Lap: 11/53 HAM: 1’33.956 |
| Adami | Multi blue DG position five to stabilise the high speed. You want to stabilise high speed, multi blue DG 5. |
| Hamilton | Yeah, rear’s sliding a bit. |
| Adami | Understood. |
| Lap: 12/53 HAM: 1’34.033 |
| Adami | Suggest early turn-in, turn eight, early turn-in. |
As the leaders ahead of him pitted to switch to the medium tyre compound, Hamilton moved up places. Andrea Kimi Antonelli did not come in yet, however, extending his stint.
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| Lap: 14/53 HAM: 1’33.985 |
| Adami | Verstappen 33.6 and switch yellow. |
| Hamilton | Rear sliding a little bit. |
| Adami | Understood. |
| Lap: 15/53 HAM: 1’33.888 |
| Adami | And we are happy with your status to the high speed for tyres. |
| Adami | As driving advice prioritise exits with early turn-in. |
| Lap: 16/53 HAM: 1’34.068 |
| Adami | And tyre phase update when you can. |
| Lap: 17/53 HAM: 1’33.760 |
| Hamilton | Pace? |
| Adami | Verstappen 33.4. And Charles 33.8, Antonelli 33.9. |
| Lap: 18/53 HAM: 1’34.034 |
| Adami | Try to reduce brake pressure, entry eight and 13. |
| Lap: 19/53 HAM: 1’34.077 |
| Hamilton | [Unclear] |
| Lap: 20/53 HAM: 1’33.747 |
| Adami | Understood. B-mig [brake migration] four might help. Russell is in the pits, fitting hard. |
| Adami | You’re doing a good job in 13, you improved there. Focus on the exit, 14. |
Hamilton had the pace to stay out longer but was eventually caught by former leader Max Verstappen after he’d pitted for the hard rubber. Rather than run the risk of losing time as the Red Bull driver and his pursuers overtook Hamilton, Ferrari brought him in.
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| Lap: 21/53 HAM: 1’33.729 |
| Adami | Piastri is in as well. Verstappen 3.0, Charles 3.6. |
| Adami | And less throttle suggested, exit 13 to prepare 14. |
| Adami | That was a good job. And the leaders are boxing, Antonelli P1 ahead of you. |
| Lap: 22/53 HAM: 1’33.698 |
| Adami | Tyre phase update when you can. And completed lap 22, Antonelli 33.2, ahead. |
| Lap: 24/53 HAM: 1’33.548 |
| Adami | And that was a good lap, Antonelli 33.2. |
| Hamilton | [Unclear] snaps, but struggling to turn the car. |
| Adami | Copy that, we do see from data, all you have now. |
| Lap: 25/53 HAM: 1’33.387 |
| Hamilton | Tyre is still good. |
| Adami | Okay, understood. |
| Lap: 26/53 HAM: 1’33.204 |
| Adami | And Hadjar is 3.7 behind, he’s boxing now, go push now. |
| Adami | And you can use more the kerb out of 13, and staying out and keep pushing. |
| Hamilton | Mode what? |
| Adami | Was use more of the kerb exit 13, 13, we are three tenths faster than Antonelli first sector, keep pushing, staying out. |
| Hamilton | Understood. |
| Lap: 27/53 HAM: 1’33.152 |
| Adami | And Charles lap time on hard 32.5, for info, and Verstappen behind you, 3.3 seconds behind you. Verstappen 32.4. |
| Lap: 28/53 HAM: 1’33.040 |
| Adami | And there is still one tenth to find, exit 14, 14. That’s your best lap. |
| Adami | You are purple, first sector. And Verstappen 2.8 behind, and SOC five to improve the pace. |
| Lap: 29/53 HAM: 1’33.215 |
| Adami | That was a good 14, faster than Antonelli. Antonelli 33.2. |
| Adami | We suggest fifth gear turn five, fifth gear. Verstappen 1.8 behind. |
| Lap: 30/53 HAM: 1’36.186 |
| Hamilton | I can see him. |
| Adami | Understood. |
| Adami | And flap update when you can. |
| Hamilton | A bit more. |
| Adami | At exit of Spoon
Box, box, pit confirm and box. |
`
| Lap: 31/53 HAM: 1’52.362 |
| Adami | Hamilton pits and heads out
You are in free air. |
Stint 2: Medium
Ferrari hoped that as Antonelli was switching to the hard tyre, Hamilton would gain a benefit from quicker tyre warm-up on his new mediums compared to the Mercedes driver.
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| Hamilton | Are people bringing them in slow or not? |
| Adami | No needed, no intro, no needed, deg is good, deg is good. |
| Adami | And the medium seems… |
| Hamilton | Interrupts
Where am I? |
| Adami | Lawson car behind, six seconds. And Russell, 10 seconds ahead. |
| Hamilton | Alright, where am I though, what position? |
| Lap: 32/53 HAM: 1’31.803 |
| Adami | We are P7, Antonelli boxing ahead of you. On hard. |
| Adami | And big warm-up on hard for Antonelli, big warm-up. |
| Lap: 33/53 HAM: 1’31.589 |
| Adami | Suggest diff entry six. Will be 19 laps to go. |
Hamilton was clearly disappointed to discover he was not making significant gains on the cars ahead after switching from the hard rubber to the mediums.
| Lap: 35/53 HAM: 1’32.385 |
| Hamilton | Where is everyone? They’re so much further ahead. |
| Lap: 36/53 HAM: 1’31.915 |
| Adami | Russell is eight seconds ahead of Antonelli, and Russell is P5. |
| Hamilton | I’d really like some info where I’m slow, mate. |
| Adami | Turn eight-nine and 13-14 |
| Hamilton | Okay, but how much? |
| Adami | Yeah, I’ll tell you. |
| Adami | Gap one tenth ten, eight and nine. Minimum speed turn eight, try to use the kerb. |
| Lap: 38/53 HAM: 1’31.869 |
| Adami | That was better. When you can, multi red KC position nine, multi Red KC nine. |
The information on Hamilton’s steering wheel display appeared to indicated he was losing a significant amount of time in the final corner. Adami told him the reference was skewed because he gained a lot of time their during his first lap on fresh tyres.
| Lap: 40/53 HAM: 1’31.663 |
| Hamilton | Accelerating out of the chicane
Look at the last corner and how bad is it? |
| Adami | Taking a look. |
| Hamilton | Let me know about turn 11, I keep losing time. |
| Adami | Copy. |
| Adami | And last corner is less than one tenth, across cars. I’ll get back to you for 11 exit. |
| Lap: 41/53 HAM: 1’31.569 |
| Adami | Across the cars we are faster than Charles at 11, but we can give you advice. |
| Adami | Turn 11 looks good from data, it’s just that your reference was a mega one with a new tyre. |
| Lap: 42/53 HAM: 1’31.517 |
| Hamilton | What lap are we on? |
| Lap: 43/53 HAM: 1’32.634 |
| Adami | 42. And 11 to go, 11 laps to go. Turn 11 is very good. |
| Adami | Right toggle turn one, suggestion. |
| Lap: 45/53 HAM: 1’32.668 |
| Adami | Last lap, the turn 14 was very good, 14, very good. |
| Hamilton | Keep having a snap turn one or turn two. |
| Adami | Understood. |
| Hamilton | Really been struggling with the rear today. |
| Adami | Diff mid four to help you. Keep using right toggle. |
| Adami | And diff entry seven. |
| Lap: 46/53 HAM: 1’31.792 |
| Adami | B-bal 60, try to protect the rears for overheating. |
| Lap: 48/53 HAM: 1’31.502 |
| Adami | Understood. And five to go, five to go. Charles lap time 31.8. |
Finish
Hamilton expressed his gratitude to his team in Italian at the end of the race. Adami revealed his car may have been “overbalanced” with too much downforce at the front following their set-up choices.
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| Lap: 49/53 HAM: 1’31.944 |
| Hamilton | What’s the gaps, man, there’s nothing on my pit board. |
| Adami | Car ahead eight seconds. |
| Lap: 50/53 HAM: 1’31.832 |
| Hamilton | Don’t have the pace today. |
| Lap: 51/53 HAM: 1’31.406 |
| Adami | Three laps to go. |
| Hamilton | How far am I off, pace-wise? |
| Lap: 52/53 HAM: 1’31.842 |
| Adami | Driver default delta zero on when you can. |
| Adami | Similar pace to Charles on the medium. Charles lap time 31.9, 31,9 on hard. |
| Lap: 53/53 HAM: 1’31.423 |
| Adami | Last lap. |
| Chequered flag |
| Adami | And P7. And pick up, please. And charge on.
Hamilton drives wide and off the track at several points to pick up discarded rubber |
| Hamilton | Sorry for that result guys, didn’t have the pace today but I’m grateful you’re continuing to push. The next race will be better. |
| Adami | Yeah, thank you, good effort out there. Chat together, probably we are a bit overbalanced protecting the fronts, we can discuss later. |
| Hamilton | Grazie a tutti [‘thanks to everyone’]. |
| Adami | Grazie a te [‘thanks to you’]. Come back stronger and keep pushing. And P0. |
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