“He did his best today”: Lewis Hamilton praises Ferrari confidante despite a shaky race in Melbourne
Lewis Hamilton's Ferrari debut did not go as expected as he finished the 2025 Australian Grand Prix in tenth place. But he remained postive after the race, while admitting to challenges in communication with race engineer Riccardo Adami.
Hamilton's move to Ferrari has been among the biggest talking points in F1 for some time, and expectations were high. On top of it, he had a good testing session in Bahrain. But rain hit the season-opening Australian GP, which affected strategy calls as the SF-25 failed to adapt, with Charles Leclerc finishing eighth and Hamilton two positions behind.
After the race, Hamilton discussed in detail what he thought went wrong, from a lack of confidence to miscommunication.
"I did a really good job. We’re learning about each other, and bit by bit, after this, we’ll download and go through all the comments, things I said and vice-versa. Generally, I’m not one that likes a lot of information in the race, unless I need it, I’ll ask for it. He did his best today and we’ll move forwards for sure," said Lewis Hamilton (via Racer).
The communication struggles at Ferrari were evident on multiple occasions throughout the race on the radio as Hamilton resisted calls from the garage. The wet and dry conditions made strategy dominate the race more than driver skill as several drivers lost control and spun multiple times.
"At the end they said it’s just a short shower so I was like ‘I’m going to hold it out’ and the rest of the track was dry. They didn’t say more was coming and all of a sudden more came. I think it was just lacking a bit of information at the end," Lewis Hamilton said.
On Lap 46, Max Verstappen and Hamilton were at the front as the Red Bull driver decided to pit and put intermediate tires on while the Ferrari stayed on with hard tires. This miscommunication regarding the rain forced Hamilton to pit on the next lap, causing him to fall behind in the race during the crucial stage.
Lewis Hamilton "starting from scratch" on his Ferrari debut
Lewis Hamilton is facing an adjustment period after his switch to Ferrari, having spent the last 12 years with Mercedes. The conditions at Albert Park made it harder for the former world champion.
"From the moment I got in the car on Friday, I didn't have the confidence. Particularly in the high speed, I was down a huge amount. I got to Saturday, confidence was coming back. I was building and building and building. And then we got to the race, and again, starting from scratch, and I didn't have any confidence through pretty much most of the race, in the settings as well, and the car was very tricky," added Lewis Hamilton in his post race statement (via The Race).
Hamilton ultimately had to settle for tenth place, and stated after the race that his debut for Ferrari did not go as well as he would have liked. The Prancing Horse appears to have work to do in order to contend for the drivers' and constructors' championship this season.
Lando Norris took the checkered flag in the race, with Max Verstappen finishing second, as F1 prepares to go to Shanghai next Sunday, March 23.