Hamilton criticizes F1's 'super-clipping' after Verstappen footage shows major speed loss

Lewis Hamilton has publicly criticized Formula 1's 'super-clipping' phenomenon, calling it "not great" after onboard footage from Max Verstappen's car at the Japanese Grand Prix revealed a dramatic loss of nearly 50 kph due to the energy recovery process. The issue highlights a key tension in the current regulations between managing complex hybrid systems and pure driver skill, especially after the FIA reduced the available energy for qualifying to 8MJ from 9MJ this weekend.

Why it matters:

The emergence of 'super-clipping'—where the car harvests battery energy even at full throttle, causing significant speed loss—directly impacts the spectacle of qualifying and racing. It shifts the competitive focus further toward energy management algorithms and away from driver throttle application, potentially diminishing the raw skill displayed on a single lap. For drivers, it creates a frustrating and "least enjoyable" experience of arriving at corners with no power.

The Details:

• The Verstappen Footage: During FP1, onboard video showed Verstappen's Red Bull hitting 320 kph on the approach to the high-speed 130R corner, only to lose roughly 50 kph through the corner and the subsequent straight due to super-clipping, visually demonstrating the system's dramatic effect.
• Hamilton's Direct Complaint: The Mercedes driver was frank in his assessment, stating, "It is definitely not great when you have super-clipping. You arrive in some places, and you're kind of coasting in because you've got no power."
• A Performance Handicap: Hamilton identified deployment as a specific weakness for his Mercedes, noting a four-tenths of a second loss to McLaren on the straight into Turn 1 alone, compounding their setup struggles.
• Regulatory Reaction: The FIA's move to reduce the usable energy per lap in qualifying from 9MJ to 8MJ for the Suzuka weekend was a direct attempt to mitigate the issue and place more emphasis on driver skill over system management.

What's next:

Hamilton and Mercedes will focus on overnight setup work to find more performance and better optimize their energy deployment, which he believes is key to unlocking their car's potential. The broader discussion around super-clipping and its impact on the sport is unlikely to fade, serving as a critical point of feedback as Formula 1 continues to evolve its hybrid power unit regulations. This issue provides a live case study for the ongoing debate about the balance between technological complexity and sporting purity ahead of the next major regulation change in 2026.