Lewis Hamilton has hinted that his Ferrari may be hampered by a flaw not affecting Charles Leclerc's ostensibly identical machine.
Both drivers have been vocal about needing a floor upgrade to address shortcomings in the 2025 car's current spec. "The floor is ready for Bahrain," La Gazzetta dello Sport reports, "but (Frederic) Vasseur and (Loic) Serra would like to wait."
The team's leadership is reportedly pushing to first fully grasp the existing setup, with technical editor Paolo Filisetti noting, "The decision will be made by Thursday."
Hamilton, however, believes his current pace lag behind Leclerc stems from a separate issue. "I'm losing a little over a tenth per lap with this problem," the seven-time world champion said.
"In the first three races there has been a small deficit between both sides of the garage in one element of the car. It's good at least to know, even though the team doesn't know why it's happening. When a new component arrives, hopefully it'll disappear and it'll be the same on both cars," the 40-year-old added.
Former F1 driver Christijan Albers has been taken aback by the gap. "Hamilton drove a hopeless race," he told De Telegraaf after the Japanese GP. "I expected much more from him."
Team principal Frederic Vasseur attributes the difference to setup choices. "The balance, therefore, is related to their (setup) decisions," he said. "We're continuing to explore the new car and are taking different approaches to adapt to the drivers. I think the situation will be different in Bahrain because we were there for three days last month."
The Italian media, meanwhile, is growing anxious about Ferrari's 2025 title prospects.
"Barcelona is the watershed weekend," La Repubblica newspaper stated. "Either we fight for the win there or we just develop the car for 2026."
