Ferrari faced one ‘disgraceful’ issue at the Australian Grand Prix, it was ‘completely out of place…’

Ferrari endured a disappointing start to the 2025 Formula 1 season as they could only manage five points at the Australian Grand Prix.

Much was expected from the Maranello outfit, particularly Lewis Hamilton. The world was eagerly anticipating the seven-time champion’s debut for Ferrari after over a year’s wait.

However, his first race in red did not go to plan. While pace looks strong in practice, it quickly disappeared on Saturday as Hamilton and Charles Leclerc locked out the fourth row of the grid.

Things did not improve during the race as Hamilton struggled to pass the Williams of Alex Albon. Class three rain in the closing stages opened the door for Ferrari to capitalise as they opted to keep their drivers on dry tyres, thinking it would last a few laps.

However, the gamble did not pay off as the team brought the pair in for intermediate tyres under the safety car, dropping them to 10th and eighth respectively. Hamilton was ‘disappointed’ Ferrari did not warn him more rain was coming.

Rene Arnoux says Ferrari were in ‘crisis’ when the rain hit, with their strategic calls again holding them back. But that was not the only major issue they had at the Australian Grand Prix.

Christian Danner slams Charles Leclerc’s ‘disgraceful’ radio message at the Australian Grand Prix

A key talking point from Melbourne was Hamilton’s radio messages with Riccardo Adami. It marked the first time the pair had worked together in a Grand Prix since the former left Mercedes.

Hamilton was often heard agitated over the radio, instructing Adami to ‘leave him be’ due to the constant information he was receiving. Teammate Leclerc was heard having a comical exchange with his engineer about a leak in his cockpit.

The Monegasque driver’s engineer said it was ‘probably the water’ to which Leclerc had the hilarious response of ‘let’s add that to the words of wisdom’. While some people saw the funny side of it, Christian Danner slammed the ‘disgraceful’ message as the Ferrari driver clearly had a problem.

“No, I think it was actually really disgraceful, because the driver says: ‘I’ve got a problem here’ and out there on the track,” he said via Motorsport-Magazin.

“It was not easy to keep the car under control and he says: ‘Hey, there’s something, I’ve got a leak here, where could it be coming from?’ The engineer says: ‘It’s probably water’, you idiot!

“I found that completely out of place, especially towards a driver like Leclerc, who isn’t a whiner at all. He’s not someone who constantly complains about something.

“He reported a problem and wanted a solution to where the water could be coming from. An answer would have been: ‘You don’t have a leak, the water bottle is broken’ or whatever was going on.

“I just found that disgraceful.”

Ferrari have a lot of work to do for the Chinese Grand Prix

Ferrari had much promise coming into Australia but left with a disappointing points haul. Heading into the Chinese Grand Prix, huge improvements are needed.

Despite scoring one point on debut, the team were happy with Hamilton’s first weekend with the team. Martin Brundle does not believe Ferrari’s claim – they surely would have expected more than P10.

The Maranello outfit could easily have scored double the points or even grabbed a podium – Hamilton was leading the race during the second rain shower. Instead, Ferrari scored fewer points than Sauber – who managed four points in 2024.

Strategy calls will be a key area to improve after getting it wrong in Melbourne. Hamilton must improve radio communication with Adami as they clearly did not have an understanding of each other during the race.

With the Brit is still learning to work with his new engineer, there is no excuse for Leclerc who is now in his seventh season for Ferrari. The team have to get their act in order if they want to challenge McLaren in 2025.