Lewis Hamilton spills major Mercedes F1 secret at Chinese Grand Prix

Cut out of Hamilton looking concerned in a Ferrari cap and coat with a background of Russell's Mercedes F1 car — Photo: © IMAGO

Chinese Grand Prix

Lewis Hamilton spills major Mercedes F1 secret at Chinese GP

Hamilton sure knows a lot about his former F1 team

Kerry Violet F1 News Editor

F1 editor and journalist covering motorsport since 2024.

Saturday 14 March 2026 09:55

Seven-time F1 champion Lewis Hamilton has been keeping a close eye on his former Mercedes team, who have now turned into his fierce rivals.

The 41-year-old picked up his first podium of 2026 in Saturday's sprint race at the Chinese Grand Prix, racing hard against both his old and his current team-mate.

However, those battles meant that Hamilton's SF-26 quickly suffered from worn out tyres, with both George Russell and Charles Leclerc crossing the line ahead of Hamilton in Shanghai, with the British legend clearly disappointed knowing he had at least a P2 finish in him.

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But there was a positive to take away from Saturday's 100km race in that the Scuderia still look to be the fastest team off the start line, with Mercedes the most competitive during qualifying so far in the new regulations cycle.

And Inspector Hamilton thinks he knows why.

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Hamilton suggests Mercedes have found 'party mode' replacement

When both Ferrari drivers appeared in the post-sprint press conference in Shanghai, they were asked to explain why the gap to Mercedes in the races is smaller than in qualifying.

But having kept a close watch over his old squad since the start of the year, Hamilton shared his own theory, dismissing suggestions that the pace deficit was down to energy approach or tyre management.

Speaking after his first podium of the season, the Ferrari star revealed: "The difference is, I mean, I was with Mercedes for a long, long time, so I know how it works there. In qualifying they have another mode that they're able to go to, a bit like a ‘party mode’ back in the day."

What is 'party mode' in F1?

'Party mode' was the nickname coined during one of Hamilton's most successful stints with the Silver Arrows, referring to the qualifying modes that offered extra engine revs and allowed maximum energy deployment on the Mercedes cars between 2018 and 2020.

It allowed the Mercedes drivers (which included Hamilton at the time) to benefit from a pace performance over a single lap during qualifying, but it was not permitted for use during full-length grands prix.

The FIA enforced a ban on this 'party mode' ahead of the 2020 Italian GP, which meant that all teams had no choice but to use the same engine mode for both qualifying and the race moving forward.

Hamilton vows to get to the bottom of Ferrari qualifying deficit

But the seven-time champion feels that Mercedes have now found a 'party mode' alternative, highlighting how the Scuderia failed to have found a trick of their own to keep in their back pocket for qualifying.

"Once they get to Q2 they switch that on, and we don't have that," the 41-year-old continued.

"So, whatever that is. And then in the race they obviously don't have that mode, so they still obviously have an advantage overall.

"We've got to figure out what that is, but there's something more they're able to extract, particularly in Q2. You see in Q1 we're not that far away, and then all of a sudden it's like a huge step. A tenth in Q1 behind, I think it was, and then all of a sudden it's seven tenths or another half a second. It's a big step."

And it isn't just Hamilton who is aware of Ferrari's uneven pace, with Russell noting after Saturday's sprint: "Their qualifying performances are always worse than we expect but their race pace is kind of where we expect.

"We saw it in Melbourne, we saw it here [Shanghai], they're very much in the fight."

F1 Ferrari Mercedes 2026 regulations Chinese Grand Prix Shanghai International Circuit