Lewis Hamilton’s Ferrari debut has been thoroughly analysed after a disappointing weekend for the Scuderia in Melbourne.
Ferrari only scored five points at the Australian Grand Prix following a poor strategy choice during the final laps of the race.
Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc were briefly leading the race before deciding they couldn’t ride out the ongoing downpour and switching onto intermediate tyres later than any of their rivals.
Rene Arnoux has suggested Hamilton faces a Ferrari crisis after his 10th place finish and that may be one of the first signs of the way the Italian press typically reacts to results that don’t go their way.
Hamilton was disappointed in Ferrari due to the lack of information he received about the second rain shower that would have dictated his tyre strategy in the closing stages of the Grand Prix.
Martin Brundle was reflecting on the race and while analysing the seven-time world champion’s performance, he admitted there was one thing he didn’t ‘understand’ about his race weekend.
It related to Hamilton’s radio messages to Riccardo Adami and the relationship that they’re still trying to develop.
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Martin Brundle didn’t ‘understand’ Lewis Hamilton’s ‘angsty’ Ferrari radio message at the Australian Grand Prix
Communication between a driver and the pit wall is a huge factor in races such as the Australian Grand Prix when the weather conditions are changing so frequently.
Although weather radars are incredibly detailed, a driver’s feel is far more relevant and how the tyres are reacting to the changing surface makes all the difference when deciding on a strategy call.
Brundle was writing about Hamilton’s first race for the team for Sky Sports F1 and admitted: “I don’t understand why Lewis was so angsty with his engineer Riccardo Adami, who I felt was simply trying to pass over relevant and helpful information.
“It all really fell apart for Ferrari when they rolled the dice on dry tyres on a wet track and lost out heavily on track position for both drivers, and they left Australia seventh in the championship.”
Brundle didn’t believe Ferrari when they said they were ‘incredibly happy’ with Hamilton’s race weekend and while he will need time to adjust to his new surroundings, both parties would have hoped for a better result than P10.
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Lewis Hamilton already making adjustments at Ferrari after his Mercedes exit
When Hamilton left Mercedes after 12 incredibly successful seasons, both parties wished the other the best of luck for the future.
However, Toto Wolff won’t want Hamilton to deny either of his drivers victories, while the seven-time world champion would have been gutted if the Silver Arrows were suddenly the fastest car on the grid.
Hamilton has already made adjustments at Ferrari that he didn’t feel confident doing during his final seasons with Mercedes.
Nigel Mansell is backing Hamilton to succeed at Ferrari but the time it’s going to take him to adjust may end his championship hopes in 2025.
He needs to find a way to defeat Leclerc over the coming months and then hope Ferrari are on top during Formula 1’s 2026 regulation changes.
