Lewis Hamilton identifies Ferrari advantage against Mercedes at Suzuka

Lewis Hamilton has pinpointed a potential advantage for Ferrari over Mercedes at the Japanese Grand Prix.

That is in spite of the seven-time F1 drivers' champion stating that he does not know how the new F1 regulations will fare at Suzuka.

The British driver pointed out how having only two straight-line mode sections in Japan is a net positive for the Scuderia, given his former team's advantage in that area.

Mercedes' upper hand is already expected to be hemmed back this weekend, following the revelation that the Brackley-based squad needed to make changes to the front wing on the W17 after conversations with the FIA.

However, it was the motorsport governing body's move to reduce the harvesting limit for qualifying that Hamilton addressed first.

When asked by media, including RacingNews365, if there was any concern that energy management would take away from the challenges of a Suzuka Circuit that is highly regarded by the drivers, he said: "I really, really don't know. They [the FIA] have changed it coming into the weekend.

"When you're on the simulator, you have to do a ton of lift and coast, which is really, really not enjoyable to do, particularly for a qualifying lap.

"So we've changed that, but we only have two SM sections here, so I'm not sure whether that's... Maybe that's a positive for us?

"Because every time Mercedes open up their SM, they pull away. So maybe there's less chance for them to do that here, maybe, I don't know. Maybe we can keep up with them more through the high-speed section, potentially."

The 105-time grand prix winner also pointed out how the 2026 regulations could be advantageous overall around the sweeping corners of the Japanese track.

"This has always been one of the favourite driver circuits, but not necessarily great racing, because you struggle to... there's overtaking into Turn 1, and maybe there's been a couple of moves through 130R, but otherwise it's quite difficult to get close, like Turn 13 [and] 14, or through that middle section," Hamilton said.

"So I'm hoping the changes really highlight just how incredible this circuit is to drive, and if we have racing on top of that, then it will be the best track in the world."