A season opener to forget for Ferrari. The Scuderia started poorly in qualifying and then failed to respond adequately to the rain that affected the Australian Grand Prix. Adding to this, both drivers seemed tense on the radio, with Hamilton appearing not to have had a great initial rapport with the pit wall.
Ferrari will certainly have much to reflect on after this first GP of the season. After a promising start to the weekend, the team suffered a sudden decline between FP3 and qualifying. As a result, both drivers found themselves in uncomfortable positions, further complicated by the weather conditions.
Hamilton, in his Ferrari debut, was unable to move up from his initial eighth place, remaining stuck behind Alex Albon before ultimately finishing tenth. The rain made things difficult for the Briton, but there also appeared to be some communication issues with the pit wall.
“I thought you said it wouldn’t rain much. We’ve lost a big opportunity,” the seven-time world champion told his race engineer, Riccardo Adami.
This referred to the moment when, as the rain intensified, while other teams pitted, both Ferrari drivers stayed out one lap too long, dropping from a potential podium finish to a disappointing eighth and tenth place.
But that wasn’t all—both Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc repeatedly asked their engineers to reduce radio communications and let them focus.
In Lewis Hamilton’s case, Riccardo Adami insisted multiple times that he press certain buttons on the steering wheel while attempting to overtake Alex Albon. Lewis Hamilton, increasingly irritated, responded by asking to be left to handle it himself.
In short, Ferrari leaves Australia not only with several questions about the car’s performance but also with the realization that it still needs to refine its strategy and communication—at least between Lewis Hamilton and Riccardo Adami.
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