Lewis Hamilton admits he has been surprised by how quickly Ferrari’s year has unravelled having won four consecutive races since the Singapore Grand Prix.
The Briton was going head-to-head with Sebastian Vettel for the 2018 title as the pair traded victories with the latter leading by eight points after the race at Silverstone.
Since Germany, however, Hamilton has outscored the German 168 points to 93 and with a sixth win in seven races on Sunday in Japan, the Mercedes driver can now take the championship in two weeks time at the US GP if he outscores Vettel by eight points.
“Up until the mid-part of the season, they [Ferrari] were very strong,” the 33-year-old commented. “Then they got to Monza and after that, they were still quite strong at Monza and Singapore, then Singapore was really when things started to tail off.
“I definitely hadn’t anticipated that they would tail off as they have. The performances have not been coming as strong as they were before.
“I don’t really have an answer for that, it’s not something I’ve really focused on – I’m sure Sebastian could tell why. We’ve just been focusing on trying to do the best job we can and maximise the potential of our own ability.”
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A possible reason is a second FIA sensor which was installed in Ferrari’s much-talked-about ERS at Marina Bay and has reported seen their power level decrease ever since.
What also must be mentioned though is the progress made by Mercedes, particularly with the tyres after unlocking performance from the race at Spa.
“You have to set your sights high,” Hamilton continued. “As we came into the season we set the goal high. We got to mid-season, we had that win going into the break.
“We’ve been pushing to make sure we come back even stronger. That’s what you’re hoping to achieve – it’s not always the case that you do.
“We have, through great hard work from everyone.”