Lewis Hamilton changes tune as Mercedes ace can’t help but laugh after Japanese GP quali | F1 | Sport

While the seven-time world champion was content with his P7 starting grid position for Sunday’s race, he couldn’t help but chuckle at the size of the gap to Red Bull.

The reigning champions were unstoppable on the Suzuka tarmac with Max Verstappen leading home team-mate Sergio Perez to seal a front-row lockout for Christian Horner’s outfit. 

However, addressing his own display, Hamilton was more optimistic. “I was giving it everything,” he told Sky Sports F1. “The team did a really great job this past week making adjustments to our set-up.

“This is actually the first weekend I’ve not gone crazy with set-up and am not testing a bunch of things, so I’m back to a bit more normal. I think we’ve got the car into a much nicer working window and so it’s been really enjoyable driving, it’s just the guys are just a little bit faster.

“We were a second or just over a second off last year to the Red Bull and seven-tenths is better. Maybe if we had done something a little bit different maybe we could have been another tenth faster, maybe, but other than that that was everything.

“I think what it’s giving us is I know exactly where the car is not strong enough, I can feel it in the car, and I know now to be telling them to ‘push in this particular area’. But I’m hoping the race will be stronger tomorrow.”

Hamilton is looking to get his 2024 season back on track in Japan this weekend following a dismal opening three races. The 39-year-old has just eight points to his name following a mechanical DNF in Melbourne last time out.

The Silver Arrows have already lost considerable ground to Ferrari and McLaren in their Constructors’ Championship battle, while Hamilton enters Sunday’s race down in tenth place in the Drivers’ Championship.