Rene Arnoux issues ‘crisis’ verdict on Lewis Hamilton’s debut for Ferrari at Australian Grand Prix

Lewis Hamilton would have been desperate to get his Ferrari career off to a strong start at the Australian Grand Prix. However, his debut in red did not go to plan.

The world was eagerly awaiting the seven-time champion to compete in his first race for the Maranello outfit. Lando Norris felt Ferrari would surprise people at the Australian Grand Prix and early signs in practice were encouraging.

‘Experts’ had Ferrari faster than McLaren in qualifying laps but the other way around in long runs. The Maranello outfit were optimistic about a strong outing on Saturday.

However, their pace quickly disappeared. Hamilton and teammate Charles Leclerc only managed to qualify on the fourth row of the grid.

The former spent much of the race struggling to get past the Williams of Alex Albon. After Fernando Alonso brought out the safety car, class three rain hit Albert Park and opened the door for Ferrari to capitalise.

Rene Arnoux says Ferrari ‘went into crisis’ in the wet conditions at the Australian Grand Prix

Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri ran off the track when the rain hit – the latter spinning onto the grass and out of contention for the win. Several drivers dived into the pits for intermediate tyres.

Verstappen pitted a lap after the McLarens while Ferrari opted to keep Hamilton and Leclerc out on track. The Brit led the race from his teammate at one point as his team gambled on dry tyres.

However, the risk did not pay off. After Liam Lawson and Gabriel Bortoleto brought out another safety car, Ferrari called Hamilton and Leclerc into the pits for intermediates, dropping them down to eighth and ninth respectively.

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Hamilton was ‘disappointed’ Ferrari did not warn him about more rain hitting the circuit. Speaking on Anch’io Sport on Rai Radio 1, former F1 driver Rene Arnoux issued his verdict on the team’s ‘crisis’ in the tricky conditions.

“Things went badly until the end,” he said. “Not only in the race, but also on Saturday in practice, we were dominated by McLaren and Verstappen. We found ourselves in a pretty bad position on the grid.

“The first Grand Prix is ​​always very exciting, because you understand what level you are at. Unfortunately, we went into crisis with the wet track. But the others dominated. The two McLarens went away like lightning.”

Rene Arnoux thinks Lewis Hamilton ‘lost a bit of enthusiasm’ after his Ferrari debut

Hamilton lost position to Leclerc on the final restart and was overtaken by Piastri with a stunning move on the outside of turn 11. The seven-time champion limped home P10 to score one point on his Ferrari debut.

The team could have scored more than double the points if they had called their drivers into the pits earlier. Instead, they sit behind Sauber in the constructors’ championship after the race in Melbourne.

Hamilton and race engineer Riccardo Adami must improve communication over the radio. The former was often heard telling the latter to ‘leave it’ and stop relaying so much information to him during the Grand Prix.

The 40-year-old still has a lot to learn at Ferrari. Arnoux thinks Hamilton ‘lost a bit of enthusiasm’ after only managed 10th on his debut: “It’s always difficult to change teams because there is no longer the possibility of doing private tests, apart from two-three days three times a year,” he explained.

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“It means that Hamilton arrived in Melbourne without really knowing the car, plus he discovered it in very delicate conditions with the wet track.

“After yesterday he lost a bit of enthusiasm and I understand that. You have to wait 4-5 grands prix and see if the car is truly competitive. Yesterday I saw a very fast McLaren.”