Hamilton hopes that Mercedes’ dominant form is not a result of potential compression irregularities

Ferrari driver Lewis Hamilton displayed an encouraing performance during the opening day of the season-starting Australian Grand Prix, but finished only seventh behind his teammate Charles Leclerc after engine issues disrupted his qualifying session.

While the seven‑time World Champion remained confident that Ferrari has untapped performance, he also expressed deep concern about the extraordinary pace shown by Mercedes under the new regulations.

Hamilton explained that his qualifying unravelled midway through Q2, despite a strong beginning to the session. He said that the car had felt competitive from the start of the weekend and that his initial laps gave him confidence heading into the decisive phases.

“The whole weekend was looking good up until Q2,” Hamilton said. “Q1 on the medium tyre was feeling solid, and I was feeling great, then we went into Q2 and we had some problems with our engine.”

The engine issue forced Hamilton to return to the pits, leaving him with only a single attempt to progress. He described the situation as extremely challenging, especially because he had to attempt that lap on a tyre compound he had not yet used in qualifying.

“We ended up having to come in, and that put a lot of pressure on us to have to go out and try and execute with one lap, on a tyre that we hadn’t driven yet, at least in Qualifying, and that was tricky,” he explained.

Hamilton added that the final segment of qualifying was chaotic for the entire field due to the late red flag, which disrupted preparation and tyre plans. “Then we went into Q3 and it was just a mess for everybody, so it was a bit random,” he said.

Despite the setbacks, Hamilton believes Ferrari’s true potential was not reflected in the final times. He argued that the SF‑26 has considerably more performance than what the team managed to extract on Saturday. “I think there’s a lot more performance in the car and we just didn’t execute it all perfectly,” he said. “Honestly, I think if it had gone perfectly, we could have been third today.”

However, Hamilton’s biggest concern was not Ferrari’s execution but Mercedes’ sudden and dramatic leap in performance. He admitted that he does not understand how Mercedes managed to find such a significant power advantage compared to testing.

“I don’t quite understand,” he said. “In testing, they didn’t show they could raise the bar, and now they have this extra power somewhere, and we need to figure out where it’s coming from.”

Hamilton went further, expressing hope that Mercedes’ advantage is legitimate and not the result of exploiting a regulatory loophole. “I hope it’s not this compression ratio thing, I hope it’s just pure power and that we just need to do a better job,” he said.

“But if it really is the compression ratio, then I’ll be disappointed that the FIA has allowed it to be like this, that it’s not in compliance with the regulations. And I’ll push my team to do the same so we can have more power.”

The Briton concluded with a stark warning about the potential consequences if Mercedes’ advantage persists. He noted that even a few months of superior performance could have a decisive impact on the championship.

“If Mercedes has a few months’ advantage performance‑wise, then the season is over,” he said. “Well, not over, but in seven races, in a few months, you lose a lot of points if you’re a second behind in qualifying, so… yeah.”