Lewis Hamilton’s grand debut to Ferrari did not go the way he or his fans wanted. When it was first announced that Hamilton would join Ferrari, the whole F1 community was shaken. Fans were expecting epic things, including an eighth championship for the British driver.
Melbourne, however, proved to be a different story altogether. The tough track, paired with a heavy rain, resulted in a race that saw 6 drivers never cross the finish line. While Lewis Hamilton and teammate Charles Leclerc finished the race, they were P10 and P8, respectively.
Lewis Hamilton laments a disappointing Australian GP
Ferrari’s pace took a hit after the free practice sessions. During FP2, Charles Leclerc managed to top the board, putting himself clear of both McLarens while Lewis Hamilton ran P5. But during qualifying, Leclerc and Hamilton were only 7th and 8th fastest, respectively.
The main race was dramatic from the formation lap to the final laps. Amidst all the disruption, Ferrari was unable to find the pace they needed. They could not manage to break above P5 under normal circumstances.
Lewis Hamilton even led the race for a brief moment when they did not pit for inters while the rest of the grid did. However, a strategic miscalculation cost the Ferrari drivers their position as they fell to the back of the top 10.
🏁| Here are the lap times at the end of the Australian Grand Prix!#F1 #AustralianGP pic.twitter.com/JAXpzGWoJE
— Fastest Pitstop (@FastestPitStop) March 16, 2025
Lewis Hamilton talked about the car in the post-race interviews and mentioned how it has a lot of potential that was not extracted during the race.
“Overall, not what I was hoping for. But there was so much to get accustomed to, get used to, with all the switch settings changes that they were throwing at you. And then just the balance of the car, it was really, very, very tricky. Really, really tricky today.” said Hamilton.
Indeed, the rainy season opener was tricky for all drivers. However, Hamilton has hopes that the car’s potential will be realised at the Chinese Grand Prix.
Ferrari hope to regain the pace at the Chinese Grand Prix
The Australian Grand Prix did not go Ferrari’s way, however, the Scuderia would hope to bring back the lost pace at the next weekend.
“I think we can improve that in the next race, hopefully, and get the car in a sweeter spot. Because I think there’s a lot more potential in the car than what we were able to extract today.” said Lewis Hamilton.
A strong effort but it wasn’t meant to be. We’ll continue to work hard and go again in a week! pic.twitter.com/oMzDYAHwGl
— Scuderia Ferrari HP (@ScuderiaFerrari) March 16, 2025
Ferrari had a lot of pace during the practice sessions, but it was lacking during the qualifying and the subsequent race. Hamilton noted that the SF-25 has the potential that they failed to extract at Melbourne. He would hope to put the car in a sweeter spot and hopefully take the challenge to the contenders at the top.
