Ferrari were left stunned by their sudden loss of pace at the United States Grand Prix, and Guenther Steiner thinks Lewis Hamilton is on the money with his theory.

The Maranello outfit looked the clear favourite for pole position at COTA, with Hamilton and Charles Leclerc looking quick in practice and in Q1 and Q2.

But in Q3, Ferrari lacked the pace when it really mattered, as they could not beat Mercedes and Red Bull. Leclerc and Hamilton qualified P4 and P5, leaving fans and the drivers frustrated.

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Guenther Steiner agrees with Lewis Hamilton that Ferrari’s rivals might be hiding performance

The team’s struggles with the engine have been well-documented, with F1’s ADUO system giving the team two upgrade opportunities in 2026 and 2027.

Their pace deficit was exposed at COTA, as Leclerc was only faster than the Aston Martins, looking at the speed trap data. Many were surprised by Ferrari’s sudden loss of performance, and Hamilton was left feeling that their rivals were hiding something.

The seven-time champion said over the radio: “These guys must be turning up [their engines] for that last Q3 because where did that time go?” after qualifying fifth, before telling Sky Sports F1 in the media pen: “We did a really good job overnight. The car felt really good in FP3 – competitive.

“Q1 and Q2 both felt pretty strong. It felt like we were right there in the fight and the car was just as good as… we didn’t make any changes, the car didn’t flip upside down in Q3. It was a really good lap.

“Those guys just somehow took another step. I don’t know what it is. Ultimately we do lose, I think we are a few tenths off on the straight as we usually are, but a great lap by Kimi and the power deficit to the Red Bull and Mercedes is still significant.

“Our car is clearly as good as theirs through the corners but we lose that down the straights.”

Former Haas team principal Steiner agreed with Hamilton as he raised the ‘suspicion’ that Ferrari’s rivals were holding something back in practice before turning it on in qualifying and the race.

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Leclerc finished second with Hamilton P4, marking a decent result for Ferrari. However, they did not have the pace to beat Mercedes and Red Bull, and Steiner thinks they have too high expectations after practice.

“I didn’t go and study the data of it. I’ve got the feeling that the other ones, I wouldn’t call it proper sandbagging, but the other ones hold something back before going to qualifying and Ferrari doesn’t.

“In the race, Ferrari today, they were good. Charles finished second, which is a very good result, but it’s like always, expectation for Ferrari, it’s always higher based on their free practice results.

“And I get slowly the suspicion, maybe the other ones hold a little bit more back for qualifying than they do. That’s my feeling.”