Red love tested by teething issues

Ferrari drivers are always the centre of attention in F1 paddocks around the world. But the signing of Lewis Hamilton took the Ferrari craze in Melbourne to another level at last weekend’s Australian Grand Prix, with red tifosi hats competing with the papaya-orange-clad supporters of McLaren’s Oscar Piastri and Lando Norris as they witnessed a seven-time world champion gearing up for his debut in red.

Thursday: “The most exciting period of my life”

The Scuderia had left no stone unturned to properly orchestrate Hamilton’s welcome in Maranello, and following three days of testing in Bahrain that attention to detail was also on display with a customised Hamilton logo and welcome message integrated into his steering wheel.

Lewis Hamilton, Ferrari

Photo by: Glenn Dunbar / Motorsport Images

Hamilton’s excitement was clear for all to see when he addressed the media on Thursday, although he was open about the adaptation period he felt he would need in the vastly different car after 12 years at Mercedes.

“I come with a very open mind, coming into this weekend,” he said in the FIA press conference while aptly flanked by Carlos Sainz, the man he replaces at Ferrari, and the boy who replaces him at Mercedes in Andrea Kimi Antonelli. “It’s about getting into a good rhythm. I’m still learning this new car that’s quite a lot different from what I’ve driven my whole career. The whole team works completely differently. This is definitely the most exciting period of my life. I’m really enjoying it, and I’m so excited to get in the car tomorrow.”

Friday: Rebuilding muscle memory

That adaptation continued at Albert Park on Friday with a “messy” FP1 session, in which Hamilton was six tenths shy of teammate Leclerc, while his fifth place in FP2 looked more promising.

One challenge for the 40-year-old was to understand what set-up changes he could make, as the tools at his disposal are not necessarily the same as the ones he could use at Mercedes. That muscle memory needs to be rebuilt from scratch again, which under the time constraints of free practice doesn’t come overnight.

Lewis Hamilton, Ferrari

Photo by: Ferrari

“I’m really still getting used to all the set-up changes. I don’t have them on call like I used to have at Mercedes because I had been there on call. I’m still working to understand what tools we can use. You can see Charles just knows because he’s been there for so long,” he commented.

It all sounded sensible enough, and Hamilton still appeared very relaxed, but one didn’t get the impression that he felt the magic was going to happen for him on his first weekend in red. He looked focused but resigned to enduring a slower adaption period than he had in mind.

Saturday: Red love is different, but where did Ferrari’s pace go?

For all of Hamilton’s tribulations getting dialled in, at least Ferrari still seemed competitive with Leclerc topping FP2. Saturday morning’s FP3 also offered the prospect of a tantalising qualifying session, with Ferrari, Red Bull and Mercedes all in the same ballpark – albeit behind pre-event favourite McLaren.

But while Leclerc and Hamilton were on the pace in Q1, they struggled to find much more time over the next two mini-sessions, with Hamilton actually slower in Q3 than in Q2 – when he suffered a spin – while rivals still found chunks of lap time. The end result was sobering, with Leclerc and Hamilton qualifying seventh and eighth respectively, behind the Racing Bulls car of Yuki Tsunoda and the Williams of Alex Albon, with Ferrari scratching its head as to why it couldn’t keep evolving with the track conditions and overheated the rear tyres so much.

Lewis Hamilton, Ferrari SF-25, spins

Photo by: Mark Sutton / Motorsport Images

A two-tenth gap to Leclerc prompted Hamilton to say “I thought I was further along than I was”, but speaking to him in the media pen he still seemed to have enjoyed his first-ever competitive outing in a Ferrari, and his eyes lit up when we asked him about the support he had received from the Melburnians, who boast a large Italian community. The novelty had not worn off just yet.

“It’s been amazing all weekend, the reception, the fan forum, the first paddock club that I’ve had, and everything’s been literally the first all weekend, like first practice one and first qualifying. And seeing everybody in red, the reception we got on stage with Charles, it’s so much different to what I’ve experienced in the past.

“Red love is different.”

Sunday: Teething issues dent Scuderia debut

On Saturday, Hamilton had made the frank admission that he wasn’t fully across the Ferrari’s wet-weather settings yet, a comment which foreshadowed a tricky debut as he struggled to keep the car on track for much of the afternoon.

Hamilton was unable to follow Leclerc through past Albon and Tsunoda, and while chasing the Williams, his lack of chemistry with Carlos Sainz’s former race engineer Riccardo Adami first surfaced on the radio. He politely but curtly asked the Italian to “leave me to it please” and not to repeat instructions so much.

Those are just the more interesting soundbites that made it into the broadcast. Listening back to their entire exchange throughout the race, Hamilton and Adami were otherwise working together just fine for large spells of the contest.

It’s a difficult balancing exercise for Adami, because on one hand Hamilton genuinely needs more information, instructions and reminders relayed to him in his first few races in a Ferrari than he needed at Mercedes, but he also clearly prefers comms to be tightened up.

“I think Riccardo did a really good job,” Hamilton said as he builds up a new relationship following a 12-year association with his former race engineer Peter Bonnington. “We’re learning about each other, and bit by bit we’ll go through all the comments. Generally, I’m not one that likes a lot of information in the race, unless I need it, I’ll ask for it. But he did his best today.

“Inevitably, there’s a transition period, and there is a foundation that needs to be built. Trust isn’t something you just walk in the door and have—it’s built over time.”

What didn’t help was Ferrari misjudging the advent of another rain shower, telling Hamilton (and Leclerc) to stay out on slicks – which briefly netted him the lead – because “hopefully” there was no more rain coming.