P1racenews AI automatic summary:
Hamilton: Lack of rear downforce leaves W14 on "knife-edge" at Suzuka
After struggling on Friday, Lewis Hamilton was much happier with his car after overnight changes, although he still faced challenges during qualifying. He finished seventh, ahead of his teammate George Russell, and the Mercedes was clearly the fourth-best car at Suzuka, behind Red Bull, McLaren, and Ferrari. Hamilton admitted that he couldn’t extract any more performance from the car, as it was already on the edge the entire lap. He described the car as “peaky” and difficult to balance. Hamilton expressed frustration at being over a second off the pole position, emphasizing the need for improvement in the winter to close the gap to Red Bull. Mercedes made setup changes to focus on the critical first part of the lap, where change of direction is crucial. Overall, Hamilton was more comfortable with the car compared to the previous day, while his teammate had a slight dip in performance.
Source: motorsport
