Seven-time F1 champion Lewis Hamilton took to the team radio during the FP2 session at the 2026 Japanese GP and complained about not having confidence in the SF26. The Briton suggested that the lack of confidence was the reason why he was slow.

Lewis Hamilton finished the FP1 session in P6 but was less than four tenths slower than George Russell’s fastest time. Going into the FP2 session, although Hamilton finished P5, he was over eight tenths slower than Oscar Piastri’s fastest time.

Throughout the FP1 and FP2 sessions, the Ferrari star kept complaining about the understeer of the SF26. Despite making changes to the car to resolve the issue, the understeer never fully went away.

Midway through FP2, following a flying lap, Hamilton complained about a “big snap in Turn 13”. After being one second off Piastri’s pace in the second practice, the Ferrari star was left puzzled as to where he was losing time to the McLaren.

“Where’s the…. one second…”

“So main difference to Piastri is 2 tenth in Turn 6, 2 tenth on the straight, and 2 tenth entry 13,” replied his race engineer

Later in the session, after complaining about the understeer multiple times and not being content with the setup, Lewis Hamilton took to the team radio and said,

“I am very slow because I have no confidence in the car”

After the FP1 session, Lewis Hamilton was summoned by the Stewards for an incident with Max Verstappen. The seven-time F1 champion was summoned for the alleged breach of Article B1.8.5 of the FIA F1 regulation for the incident with the Dutchman in Turns 14 & 15.

The article is for “Driving Unnecessarily Slowly, Erratically or In a Manner Which Could Be Deemed Potentially Dangerous to Other Drivers”. However, Hamilton was cleared by the Stewards after the meeting with no further action.

Lewis Hamilton explains why the SF26 suits him better than its predecessor

Lewis Hamilton arrived at Ferrari ahead of the 2025 season, when the SF25 was already developed. The Briton came out ahead of the Japanese GP and detailed how the previous year’s car wasn’t to his liking, and that he asked the team to make some changes, like the suspension, but the same couldn’t be done due to the budget cap.

Speaking on why the SF26 suits him well, Hamilton said,

“We come to this year’s car, completely new era, new start for everyone, but I’ve got a couple of things on there that I asked for which I’m really grateful that they listened and did. Charles and I tested it and we both loved it. The car is lighter and nimble, less downforce but it’s a lot more like a go-kart, throwing it around. It’s quite fun,” (via F1)

Hamilton took his first Ferrari podium at the Chinese GP a couple weekends ago.