Hamilton’s Ferrari Debut Marred by Strategy Missteps

A risky tire call and shaky team radio exchanges overshadowed Hamilton’s first race in red, exposing Ferrari’s need for better execution.

Ferrari team principal Fred Vasseur has downplayed the team’s strategic misstep after Lewis Hamilton’s challenging debut in red at the Australian Grand Prix.

Both Hamilton and his teammate, Charles Leclerc, struggled in the ever-changing conditions at Albert Park. The seven-time world champion even admitted on Saturday that he wasn’t familiar with the wet-weather settings of his Ferrari SF-25.

After the race, Hamilton said he was “grateful” just to have kept the car on track as Ferrari gambled on slick tires until the end—a bet that didn’t pay off.

“It was a tricky situation because sectors one and two were still dry, while sector three was wet. It was a bit of a gamble… We bet on staying out and waiting for the final phase of the race with slicks.”

“When Mercedes and McLaren pitted two laps earlier, we stopped at the wrong moment. The best option was to pit on the same lap as Max [Verstappen], but we got it wrong.”

Vasseur admitted Ferrari could have done better:

“We can’t be happy with the result because it doesn’t reflect our car’s potential. That means, as a team, we didn’t do our job properly. Charles had a strong start, and Lewis was fighting his way up the field. But as I said, when the rain returned, we took the risk to stay out—just like Max did. However, we mismanaged our next move by staying out one lap too long, and we paid the price.”

On the bright side, Vasseur pointed to Ferrari’s promising pace earlier in the weekend:

“We showed good speed on Friday, both in qualifying and race simulations—on par with Mercedes and Red Bull, just behind McLaren. The positive thing is that we’ll be back on track in a few days, giving us the chance to reassess our potential. The season is long, and we need to keep pushing.”

Communication Issues Between Hamilton and His Engineer?

Ferrari’s team boss also acknowledged that radio exchanges between Hamilton and his race engineer, Riccardo Adami, weren’t “smooth,” as tensions ran high at times during the race.

“It was the first race, the first time they had to communicate between the pit wall and the car. I think we can improve and understand each other better. It certainly wasn’t ideal, but the strategy was complex.”

“We need to find a better way for Lewis and the team to communicate, but we’ll learn from this first race. It’s not a major issue.”

One of Hamilton’s frustrations was Ferrari’s inaccurate assessment of the incoming rain, which he questioned over the team radio.

Vasseur defended the difficulty of making real-time weather calls:

“It’s tough… We don’t have a perfect reading of the rain; it’s more of a feeling—what we see on the screens and radar, corner by corner.”

“Everyone was caught off guard by the amount of rain at that moment, McLaren included. Staying out on slicks and surviving to the end sounds easy in hindsight, but it was a bad decision.”

Despite moments of frustration during the race, Hamilton had positive words for Adami afterward:

“Riccardo did a great job. We’re still getting to know each other. After this weekend, we’ll go through all the feedback—what I said and vice versa.”

“In general, I don’t like too much information during a race unless I ask for it. He did his best, and we’ll move forward together.”

Looking ahead, Hamilton acknowledged the challenge Ferrari faces against McLaren and Red Bull:

“We’ve seen that McLaren and Red Bull are incredibly fast. We have a lot of work to do—with Riccardo, with the whole team. In China, I’ll try a different approach with the car setup.”

With a long season ahead, Ferrari’s learning curve with Hamilton is just beginning.