Lewis Hamilton: « I didn't expect to be nine tenths off pole »
In his first Australian Grand Prix with Ferrari, Lewis Hamilton finished eighth in qualifying, a long way from Lando Norris's pole position. He looks back on his first impressions and the surprise of his performance gap.
Lewis Hamilton embarked on a new adventure with Ferrari and experienced a qualifying weekend full of twists and turns. For his first Australian Grand Prix with the Scuderia, the Englishman, a seven-time world champion, finished the qualifying in a surprising eighth place, just one position behind his teammate Charles Leclerc. The 4th row of the grid will therefore be 100% Ferrari.
Questioned about his impressions after the session, Lewis Hamilton admitted that he did not expect such a gap. “I didn’t know I was going to be nine or eight-tenths slower today,” he said to Sky F1. It’s not necessarily a catastrophic performance, but the driver clearly felt the difference compared to his past performances, especially with Mercedes. He put this performance in perspective, highlighting that it was his first qualification with Ferrari and that he was still learning to master the machine.
Hamilton must adjust his aim.
At the front of the grid, it’s the McLaren duo, consisting of Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri, who surprised everyone by taking the lead, with Norris being nearly four-tenths faster than Max Verstappen, the undisputed leader. “Lando did a great job,” commented Hamilton after the qualifying, highlighting the strong performance of the McLaren.
The British champion also observed that other drivers, like George Russell, Yuki Tsunoda, and Alex Albon, managed to surpass the Ferraris, adding even more pressure on the Scuderia. Hamilton admitted that this performance gap was larger than expected: “There is a lot to dissect, for sure,” he remarked, highlighting that the race would be a new challenge to tackle.
If the results in qualifying were not up to Hamilton’s expectations, he remains fairly satisfied with his progress compared to his teammate. The gap between the two Ferrari drivers was reduced to two-tenths by the end of the day, a performance Hamilton considers as not bad. Charles has been part of this team for seven years. He knows his car well, not necessarily the new one, but regarding the general characteristics of our cars and all the tools and everything else, he explained, acknowledging he is still in the adaptation phase.
For a first weekend with Ferrari, there is reason to be optimistic. Hamilton has not yet been able to eclipse Leclerc, but he has quickly shown that he is not very far behind. « To be this close in my first qualifying session, I’ll definitely take it », he said. This is only the beginning of a long season and he is determined to keep working to narrow this gap.
The challenge of the rain
With the weather forecast predicting rain for Sunday’s race, Hamilton is preparing for another challenge. He has never driven his Ferrari in these conditions before, which makes adaptation even more complex. « I have never driven this car in the rain, so I don’t even know the rain setting, so I need to go study it tonight », said Hamilton, preparing his notes for the next day.
The driver is aware of the situation, but his motivation remains intact. “Tomorrow is going to be a challenge,” he added. This is a continuous learning experience for him, and each session is an opportunity to better understand the car and the specific settings of the Scuderia.
