"Nico Hulkenberg is the leading Ferrari powered driver": F1 influencer reacts as Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc have disastrous races
F1 influencer Tom Bellingham made a cheeky remark involving Kick Sauber driver Nico Hulkenberg while commenting on the performance of Ferrari duo Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc at the 2025 Australian Grand Prix. The Ferrari pair had a disappointing qualifying on Saturday at the Albert Park Circuit as they could only manage a lowly P7 and P8 after an impressive Friday showing.
However, there was optimism around the Italian team given the wet conditions presenting them with opportunities to make inroads on the track. While Leclerc had a decent first half of the race as he climbed to P5, Hamilton on his debut was unable to get past Alex Albon and ran most of the race in P8.
For a brief period, the duo were running at the front in P1 and P2, with Lewis Hamilton leading Charles Leclerc with 10 laps to go. However, they were unable in their attempt to run slick tires in wet conditions and ultimately pitted. The late pitstop meant that they could only get home a P8 and P10.
On his official social media platform, X, Bellingham made a cheeky remark on Ferrari woes by claiming that Sauber driver Nico Hulkenberg was the lead Ferrari engine driver as he finished P7, saying:
"Nico Hulkenberg is the leading Ferrari powered driver in the championship,"
The German driver had started the race from P17 and made an excellent start and used his experience to keep his car on the track and get some important points at the end.
Charles Leclerc analyzes his disappointing P8 finish in Melbourne
Ferrari driver Charles Leclerc stated that the main race on Sunday was a "missed opportunity" for the Italian team as they lost their way in the wet conditions.
Speaking with Motorsportweek, the Monegasque driver reflected on the result and said:
"It was definitely a missed opportunity. I mean, especially in those conditions when it’s changing and that you don’t have the pace, it’s there that you’ve got to score the points and we didn’t today. We were not fast enough at the beginning of the race when the race was kind of boring and then once it mattered to make the right choice, we didn’t.
“But the first one to blame is my mistake out of Turn 11 because this I’ve lost four positions or five positions, I think. And from that mistake, then it puts us on the back foot. And if you look at three or four positions in front, then we are third or fourth, which I think was what could be done. So, yeah, but it’s the way it is.”
Charles Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton collected five points in the race which has put Ferrari in P7 in the Constructor's Championship after the season opener.