Hamilton’s Ferrari Debut: Embracing the Realities in Red

MELBOURNE, Australia — Lewis Hamilton’s tenth-place finish at the Australian Grand Prix marked a modest beginning to his Ferrari career, following months of anticipation. However, it provided an authentic introduction to racing with the modern Ferrari team.

‘It was more challenging than I anticipated,’ Hamilton admitted after the race.

Unlike legendary Ferrari debuts where drivers like Nigel Mansell, Kimi Räikkönen, and Fernando Alonso secured victories, Hamilton was never in contention for a win on Sunday.

The race echoed familiar themes for long-time Ferrari observers: a decline in performance as competitive sessions began, compounded by confusing radio communication, missed opportunities, and a persistent feeling of underachievement that has often plagued the Scuderia in recent years.

Despite this, it’s important to note that the situation could have been worse. The Australian race was typically unpredictable, catching out both rookies and experienced champions like Alonso. Hamilton, still sporting the smile seen since his Ferrari announcement, maintained a philosophical outlook.

‘It was definitely a steep learning curve today,’ Hamilton mentioned in media interviews post-race. ‘I’m just thankful I avoided any collisions.’

His perspective is appropriate given the early stage of his Ferrari journey. There’s no reason for alarm based on a single disappointing race weekend. While immediate top performance wasn’t evident, there were understandable factors at play.

Hamilton’s move to Ferrari wasn’t predicated on immediate victory in the 2025 Australian Grand Prix, similar to his Mercedes switch in 2013. Yet, this Grand Prix underscored the immediate challenges Hamilton faces in maximizing his potential within this new phase of his career.

Radio Communication Challenges

The competitive landscape in Melbourne quickly became apparent. Despite Charles Leclerc’s strong Friday practice, Ferrari’s competitiveness waned in qualifying, with McLaren securing the front row. While the competitive order may shift at different tracks, the prevailing sentiment is that McLaren currently holds a performance edge in dry conditions.

Hamilton faced more immediate concerns than the overall car performance; closing the gap to Leclerc was his primary focus throughout the weekend. He had previously highlighted the significant adjustments required when joining a completely new team after 12 years in one environment. Hamilton revealed that Ferrari’s data analysis charts for stint times are inverted compared to Mercedes’ system, a challenge also encountered by Carlos Sainz at Williams.

Hamilton has marked numerous ‘firsts’ since joining Ferrari: his first time in team apparel, his first time in the car, and his first drive out of the garage. Sunday’s race was another crucial first experience.

‘I felt like I was thrown into the deep end today,’ he reflected afterwards. ‘Everything is new, from driving this car in the rain for the first time, experiencing different car behavior compared to the past, to managing the power unit and steering functions – it’s about juggling all these new elements.’

This unfamiliarity was particularly evident in the radio communications between Hamilton and the Ferrari pit wall. Ferrari’s radio strategy has been a frequent point of criticism. While communication has improved under Frédéric Vasseur’s leadership, the Australian race saw some setbacks on both sides.

An amusing radio exchange occurred between Leclerc and his engineer, Bryan Bozzi:

Leclerc: ‘Is there a leakage?’

Bozzi: ‘A leakage of what?’

Leclerc: ‘I have a full seat of water, like, full of water!’

Bozzi: ‘Must be the water.’

Leclerc: ‘We’ll add that to the words of wisdom.’

Leclerc later explained the leak originated from his water bottle. While Bozzi’s response makes more sense in context, it’s already become a memorable F1 radio moment.

Communication between Hamilton and his engineer, Riccardo Adami, was similarly awkward. After years with Peter Bonnington at Mercedes, Hamilton is now adjusting to Adami. The driver-engineer relationship is vital, and broadcasted messages indicated they are still adapting to working together. At one point, Hamilton requested, ‘Just don’t repeat everything [you say], please.’

Another instance of their growing pains emerged mid-race when Adami advised Hamilton about the ‘K1’ setting. Hamilton politely responded, ‘Leave me to it, please,’ as he managed the car in wet conditions. Race engineers acknowledge that in-race communications are rarely this courteous. Kimi Räikkönen’s famous ‘leave me alone’ message exemplifies this.

Communication issues continued as Ferrari attempted a strategy by keeping Hamilton on dry tires, initially mirroring Max Verstappen’s approach.

‘Is there more rain coming?’ Hamilton inquired as the race became increasingly chaotic. ‘Negative. Just this, hopefully. Let’s see,’ Adami replied. ‘Still raining in the pit lane.’

As Hamilton passed the start-finish line, briefly leading as Verstappen pitted for wet tires, he quickly realized the situation.

‘Ah s—, we should have come in,’ he said. ‘More rain’s coming in. The whole track’s wet now.’

Predicting weather is challenging, but this highlighted the lack of established understanding between Hamilton and Adami. Strong driver-engineer relationships rely on mutual trust and intuitive understanding. Hamilton and Adami seemed to be misaligned.

By the time Hamilton pitted, a lap after Verstappen, his frustration was evident.

‘I thought you said it wasn’t gonna rain much,’ Hamilton stated. ‘We lost a big opportunity there.’

Upon being informed he had dropped to ninth, Hamilton audibly sighed before apologizing.

Their relationship is expected to improve. Hamilton praised Adami post-race.

‘I think Riccardo did a really good job,’ he said. ‘We’re learning from each other. We’ll review everything, my feedback and his. I generally prefer minimal race information unless needed. He did his best today, and we’ll progress.’

Vasseur acknowledged the need for immediate improvement in Ferrari’s communication.

‘It was the first race, our first time communicating between pit wall and car. We can improve our communication and understanding. The strategy was complex, and we need better car-pit wall communication, but we’ll learn from this first race, it’s not a major concern.’

Hamilton and Adami have an immediate opportunity to refine their communication at the upcoming Chinese Grand Prix. Following the Australian race, Ferrari’s radio communication will be under even greater scrutiny in Shanghai.