Lewis Hamilton’s first race with Ferrari ends in disappointment in Australia

After being the centre of attention in the lead-up to the Australian Grand Prix, Lewis Hamilton found himself out of the spotlight at Albert Park when he finished in 10th place on his debut with Ferrari. 

Although he was unfamiliar with his new team’s rain settings on a wet and windy day, Hamilton and Ferrari fans would have expected a much better result with the Briton seeking a record eighth world championship. However, it was McLaren’s Lando Norris who finished on top, while Hamilton’s former Mercedes teammate George Russell also secured a spot on the podium. 

Moreover, Kimi Antonelli, the Italian teenager who replaced Hamilton at Mercedes, made an impressive debut, finishing fourth. 

Hamilton’s race performance 

Before the race, Hamilton grabbed the attention of many fans at Albert Park when he walked into the paddock wearing a black suit with no shirt underneath, making a bold fashion statement. 

However, the race day told a different story as he struggled to even secure a point, while his teammate Charles Leclerc endured a tough race, finishing in eighth place. 

Clearly dissatisfied with his car’s performance, Hamilton was seen having a series of tense, frustrated exchanges with Ferrari race engineer Riccardo Adami over the team radio. He complained about being caught off guard by a weather decision during the race and felt the strategy had let him down. 

Despite the issues, he briefly led the race when many drivers pitted late. However, after his own pit stop, he finished behind a surprising group of drivers, including  Alex Albon from Williams in fifth place, Lance Stroll from Aston Martin in sixth place, and Nico Hulkenberg from Sauber in seventh place.

After the event, Hamilton said: “Overall, not what I was hoping for, but there was so much to get accustomed to, with all the switch settings and changes that (the team) were throwing at you… Then just the balance of the car… It was really very, very tricky.” 

He added: “I think we can improve that in the next race, hopefully, and get the car in a sweeter spot. I think there’s a lot more potential in the car than what we were able to extract today.”

In a social media post, Hamilton stated: “A real rollercoaster. Definitely not what we had hoped for, but I’m grateful to get my first race done. Now we build onwards and upwards. We have a lot of work to do, and we’ll keep pushing to make improvements and bring better results. There’s a lot of potential in the car, now we do the work to unlock it. Grazie, on to the next 🏎️✌🏾”

Wishing you a very happy birthday 🎊🎉🥳🎈🎂🍪🍫🎁and many happy returns of the day, dear Naima ! God bless you and keep you happy and healthy always! May all your dreams come true! Lots of love and hugs 🥰💕🧡❤️😍 Enjoy your day 🌈

 

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