Lewis Hamilton showed his frustration during the Japanese Grand Prix when Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc caught him on the straights. He later reported that he was losing ground to the top five, though a gamble to extend his first stint seemed to pay off when a safety car handed him a cheap pit stop.

The 41‑year‑old briefly moved ahead of George Russell at the restart, putting him on course for back‑to‑back podiums, but he eventually slipped to P6 as Leclerc, Russell and Lando Norris all came through. Throughout the race, Hamilton was heard complaining multiple times about losing out in the straight‑line sections.

Hamilton was heard asking his engineer, Carlo Santi: “Charles just caught me down the back straight – why?” After slipping two places, he added: “I just have less deployment. I really need some power.” Frustrated as Norris closed in, he said: “Ahh, he’s got so much power, man.”

Hamilton remained silent on the radio after the chequered flag. While the British driver appeared to suggest the Ferrari power unit was to blame for his struggles, former teammate Jenson Button disagreed, saying: “I think Lewis might have made a tiny mistake there.

“When you look at the flashing lights of his car, they were flashing for a lot longer, so he took longer to cancel the de-rate of the power and that gave Charles a bit more of an advantage.”

Speaking afterwards, Hamilton admitted: “It was a demanding race, and clearly not the result I wanted. My first stint went well in terms of tyre management, but I simply didn’t have the pace to compete.

“The focus now is on understanding why and finding ways to improve. With a month before the next race, we’ll use the time to analyse every detail from these first three races and make sure we come back stronger.” Finishing sixth is his worst result of the season so far.