Lewis Hamilton is just over a week away from making his competitive debut for Ferrari at the start of the 2025 Formula 1 season.
The Australian Grand Prix has been a happy hunting ground for Lewis Hamilton in the past, finishing on the podium for McLaren on his first visit to the circuit back in 2007.
Hamilton is one of 10 Formula 1 drivers to have won on multiple occasions in Australia with his two victories coming in 2008 and 2015.
While he wouldn’t have wanted to wait a decade to stand on the top step in Melbourne, it would be a fitting beginning to his Ferrari career to start with a win.
However, it won’t be an easy task for the seven-time world champion based on pre-season testing.
McLaren appear to be the fastest team this season, with Lando Norris, in particular, impressing during his race simulation.
The 40-year-old’s final long run was cut short due to telemetry issues, but his teammate Charles Leclerc could only match the pace of Mercedes rookie Andrea Kimi Antonelli when they ran at the same time during their race simulations.
Hamilton is putting in the hours at Ferrari’s factory to get up to speed before the start of the season, but there’s no way he’ll be as acclimated to the team as Leclerc is given the Monegasque has been part of the team’s setup for half of his life.
Carlos Sainz was the man he replaced at the Scuderia and journalist Chris Medland was telling The Red Flags Podcast what the Spaniard’s manager told him when it comes to trying to adapt to life at Maranello.
Lewis Hamilton sent warning about getting used to life at Ferrari by Carlos Sainz’s manager
Medland was asked how Hamilton is getting on at Ferrari so far and said: “So for Lewis, I think it’s the hardest task because of the expectation on him.
“Speaking to him, he’s talked about the respect he now has for drivers that move teams. He finds there’s so much work to do to get comfortable again.
“He’s had 12 years at Mercedes, only ever driven a Mercedes power unit, he knew every switch and every mode and everything like the back of his hand. And now he’s going to learn that all over again in a brand new setting, in a totally new language as well.
“Talking to Carlos’s manager, he was saying how when Charles will come into the garage, even during testing, but certainly in the first couple of race weekends, when he wants the car to react a slightly different way, he’ll know exactly the change to ask for and how to ask for it, how Ferrari go about that.
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“He says, for Lewis, it will take ages to get there, that’s natural. So he’s up against Charles Leclerc in a position that Charles Leclerc is very comfortable in, with expectations that he should be performing like everyone knows Lewis Hamilton can.
“I think that he’s looked more comfortable than he has in many pre-seasons in this era of car.
“I think if anything, this looks like a car that suits him maybe more than any of the Mercedes did.”
Lewis Hamilton warned about lack of preparation heading to the Australian Grand Prix
Although Hamilton is the second-most experienced driver on the grid behind Fernando Alonso, he’s benefitted throughout his career from stability.
His previous move between McLaren and Mercedes saw him still using the same power unit and knowing many of the staff from the time the two organisations worked together.
However, Ferrari is a completely different outfit and although they mainly work in English, they are a very Italian team.
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The multiple world champion has started to learn Italian and spending long hours in the factory is helping him practice, but there are hundreds of nuances that will be different to what he’s used to that will take time to adapt to.
Hamilton has been warned by might be underprepared for the Australian Grand Prix and while he’ll be confident in his own ability, he’ll know that there are still small things he can continue to improve over the coming weeks and months.
He’s got to hope that isn’t the difference between winning a championship and falling agonisingly close at the season finale in Abu Dhabi.
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