The first race of the 2025 Formula 1 season has concluded. The result confirmed what was seen the day before: McLaren dominating, Red Bull with Max Verstappen lurking, Mercedes following, and Ferrari at the back of the top 4. But what was seen today from Ferrari was shocking, the worst debut Lewis Hamilton could have imagined: here’s the seven-time world champion’s analysis of the Australian GP.
From Friday, during the first two free practice sessions, Lewis Hamilton struggled with some difficulties. Even for a champion of his caliber, it was very complicated to adapt to a new team after years spent with Mercedes. A different engine, a completely different team, a completely opposite car concept, and, after the race, we can say especially, a new race engineer.
This last factor deserves attention. After years with Peter Bonnington, “Bono,” Lewis Hamilton inherited Carlos Sainz’s engineer, Riccardo Adami. During the race, there were several issues between the two. Lewis Hamilton frequently asked on the radio for more accurate updates on specific factors and, on other occasions, asked to be “left alone.”
But let’s start from the beginning. The British driver started from eighth place on intermediate tires. While Charles Leclerc managed to pass both Alex Albon and Yuki Tsunoda right from the first lap, Lewis Hamilton remained stuck behind the two, who were clearly slower. The SF-25 lost a lot of time on the exit of the final corner, where the Williams driver managed to gain those crucial tenths to protect himself.
The situation began to get complicated with the interruption of the rain and the appearance of the dry line. Following everyone else, the Briton returned to the pits to switch to hard tires despite the expected rain in the next five minutes. As predicted, the downpour arrived. While everyone else returned to the pits, Ferrari decided to stay out on the slicks, losing a tremendous amount of time.
The blow came from the Safety Car, which came out to recover Liam Lawson’s Red Bull. With the group bunched up, Lewis Hamilton returned to the pits to switch back to intermediates and emerged in tenth place. It was in this position, after being overtaken by Piastri on the last lap, that he crossed the finish line.
Not the debut he was hoping for. “It was really difficult. One of the toughest races I could have expected. Being in those conditions with this car, with a new power unit, with new engineers, and a steering wheel with completely different functions, it was terrible. I expected more. At one point we were fighting for the podium, but then with the rain, everything got worse.” – the British driver pointed out at the end of the Australian Grand Prix.
“The rain intensified, especially in the last sector, but the rest of the track seemed dry. I knew some people had already pitted, but I didn’t know it had started raining so heavily in other parts of the track. No one told me. It was a bit of a missed opportunity. Today, we didn’t get the car into the right window, but I don’t think we’re that far behind. We’ll see in China.” – the seven-time Formula 1 world champion concluded.
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