Formula 1, Sportrik Media - Lewis Hamilton has raised questions over the pace advantage shown by Mercedes-AMG Petronas Formula One Team during qualifying for the 2026 Australian Grand Prix at Albert Park Circuit.
Mercedes dominated the session by locking out the front row, with George Russell securing pole position ahead of team-mate Kimi Antonelli. Isack Hadjar of Red Bull Racing qualified third but finished almost eight-tenths behind Russell’s lap.
Hamilton, driving for Scuderia Ferrari, endured a difficult session and ultimately finished seventh on the grid.
During pre-season testing, rivals had already highlighted the potential strength of the Mercedes power unit. One area frequently discussed within the paddock was the reported advantage linked to its compression ratio.
Although the FIA is expected to introduce measures to address the issue from the Monaco Grand Prix onward, Hamilton said he hopes Mercedes’ pace is not connected to that topic.
“I don’t understand it exactly,” Hamilton told media.
“They didn’t show that they could turn it up in testing, and now they seem to have this extra power from somewhere.”
The seven-time world champion stated that Ferrari must now analyse where the performance difference is coming from.
“We need to understand what that is. I hope it’s not this compression ratio thing.”
“Hopefully it’s just pure power and we simply need to do a better job.”
Hamilton also suggested that if the advantage is linked to a technical loophole, it would be disappointing if the regulations allowed such a situation.
“But if it is the compression thing, then I will be disappointed that the FIA allowed that to happen if it’s not really in the spirit of the rules.”
He added that Ferrari would likely need to respond in kind if the approach remains permitted.
“I would push my team to do the same thing so we can get more power.”
When asked whether it could be considered a positive if Mercedes’ advantage lasts only the first seven races before regulatory adjustments, Hamilton warned that the early phase of the season could still be decisive.
“Then the season is done,” he said.
“Well, not done, but if you lose several races when you are almost a second behind in qualifying, you can lose a lot of points.”
Hamilton also explained that his own qualifying session began strongly but deteriorated after issues during the second segment.
“It was a great weekend up until Q2 basically,” Hamilton explained.
“I felt good with the car and everything with my engineer.”
However, he revealed Ferrari encountered a loss of power during that phase of qualifying.
“Then we got to Q2 and we basically lost power.”
“On the medium tyre we were looking solid, but when we went back out we ended up behind other cars and lost tyre temperature.”
The traffic and tyre temperature drop prevented Hamilton from improving further, leaving Ferrari outside the leading battle.
“After that we just got out of sync and didn’t manage to produce strong laps.”
The result leaves Ferrari facing significant work overnight as the team looks to challenge Mercedes during the opening race of the 2026 Formula 1 season in Melbourne.
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