Lewis Hamilton endured a difficult start to his Ferrari career at the Australian Grand Prix. His debut for the Scuderia is the biggest story of the Albert Park weekend.
But Hamilton failed to crack the top 10 in the opening practice session, ending up 12th-fastest. His best time of a 1:18.071 left him eight-tenths off the pace and six-tenths behind Ferrari teammate Charles Leclerc.
He was still wearing his helmet when he exited the garage afterwards. That’s typically taken as a sign of a driver being frustrated.
In FP2, Hamilton climbed to fifth and chipped a couple of tenths away from the intra-team deficit. But 0.4s is still a large margin over a 76-second lap.
Worryingly, his time on the soft-tyre qualifying simulations was slower than what Leclerc had managed on the mediums. He found himself between the standout Racing Bulls cars of Yuki Tsunoda and Isack Hadjar.
It’s only practice, of course. But Hamilton’s relationship with his new engineers will be put to the test as they try to implement his feedback on the car balance ahead of qualifying.
Lewis Hamilton laments Ferrari understeer at Australian Grand Prix
According to BBC Sport’s Andrew Benson, Hamilton repeatedly complained about understeer as he lapped the Australian Grand Prix circuit in the Ferrari. He grew increasingly unsettled in the cockpit.
As Benson explains, this was at odds with Hamilton’s driving style. He can cope with a ‘loose rear end’, but he ‘really doesn’t like’ an uncompliant front.
- READ MORE: Ferrari driver Lewis Hamilton’s life outside F1 from net worth to family
Teammate Leclerc is apparently similar in this regard. Perhaps Hamilton will look to align with the Monegasque, who set the pace in FP2, set-up wise.
The seven-time world champion wasn’t the only driver facing understeer. Max Verstappen also looked uncomfortable in the Red Bull as he struggled to get the nose to the apex.
“He’s not a happy bunny, is he, Lewis Hamilton,” Benson reported. “Understeer is something that Hamilton really doesn’t like and he’s been complaining about it all day.
“By the way, Charles Leclerc doesn’t like understeer either. They both drive the car very similarly – attacking, on the brakes, they don’t mind a loose rear end.”
Lewis Hamilton warned by Carlos Sainz’s father ahead of Ferrari debut
F1 pundit David Coulthard said Hamilton faced a ‘worrying’ issue before he joined Ferrari. In his final years at Mercedes, particularly 2024, he didn’t seem to be as attuned to the ‘performance profile of the car’.
He experienced a similar problem on day one in Melbourne, but it’s still exceedingly early to make a judgement. Even if, in a worst-case scenario, he struggles for multiple races, the move shouldn’t be written off.
Indeed, Carlos Sainz Sr has warned Hamilton he’ll need time to show his best form for the Maranello outfit. That’s after seeing his son’s adaptation period first time.
According to Sainz Sr, Leclerc’s former teammate was two to three-tenths faster at the end of the season than he was at the start. This was the natural result of learning about the car in qualifying and race trim.
Leave feedback about this