Christian Horner slams Ferrari for missing ‘no-brainer’ call over Lewis Hamilton’s Australian GP strategy
Christian Horner took a jibe at Ferrari's decision to commit to a risky strategy, ultimately sabotaging Lewis Hamilton's race.
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Christian Horner (via IMAGO) and Lewis Hamilton (via Ferrari)
Lewis Hamilton‘s Ferrari debut at the 2025 Australian GP was disappointing, to say the least. The Briton was unable to contend for a race win in his very first race with the team. Moreover, Maranello committed a blunder in the strategy that caused Hamilton to lose crucial positions in the pecking order. Now, Red Bull’s Team Principal Christian Horner has taken a dig at the Italian constructor for sabotaging the Briton’s race.
Ferrari decided to stick to a highly risky and unexpected strategy of using Hard tires during a seemingly wet track condition. The gamble did not pay off and both drivers had to pit later in the race to revert to Inters compound when the conditions became worse. Moreover, Lewis Hamilton couldn’t hold onto his P8 start and fell down to P10 in the pecking order. Despite Maranello briefly leading the race with the hard tires, they had no shot at maintaining the lead when the conditions worsened.
Christian Horner reckoned that Ferrari was taking a ‘gamble’ with Lewis Hamilton’s strategy. The Briton pointed out that the team aborted their risky strategy at the worst time possible. However, Horner admitted that he hadn’t closely analyzed the team’s race plan at the Australian GP. Regardless, the timings visible from the pit wall were evident enough of the team’s blunder in strategy.
It looked like they were taking a bit of a gamble and then they probably aborted at the worst time. I haven’t followed their race plot that closely. From the pit wall, that’s what it looked like.
Christian Horner said, as reported by GPblog.
Horner believed that changing from Hards to Inters during the conditions worsening was the ‘no-brainer’ decision for Ferrari to commit to. The 51-year-old noted that the team needed to react to the situation immediately and change the strategy. The Briton joked that it was ‘pissing down in the pit-lane’ and using wet tires seemed like an ideal option for all the teams.
Yeah, I just mean at that moment, it seemed a kind of no-brainer decision at that point. You’ve always got to react to very much what’s going on around you. When it’s pissing down in the pit lane, it’s usually a good time to put some wet tyres on.
Christian Horner added.
Lewis Hamilton claims Ferrari’s challenger ‘lacking pace’
Lewis Hamilton’s race in Australia turned out to be extremely disappointing despite his optimism after the pre-season test. Hamilton only scored a single point while his teammate only finished in P8. As a result, Ferrari fell down to P4 in the constructors’ championship just behind Red Bull. Following a dismal outing in Melbourne, the Briton opened up on the issues he faced during the race.
Hamilton asserted that he was grateful to come out of the race and score at least one point. The Briton reckoned that it was great to not spin out or go off the track, inadvertently damaging the chassis. However, the 40-year-old didn’t hesitate to acknowledge that Ferrari’s challenger was lacking pace in the wet conditions as compared to the rivals.
I’m grateful I got through it, and I came out of it with a little bit of stuff, at least it’s one point. Obviously didn’t go off or spin today, but lacking pace for sure.
Lewis Hamilton said, as reported by Planetf1.
Lewis Hamilton positive of Ferrari having ‘more performance’ in the challenger
Ferrari might not have excelled at the wet conditions in Australia. However, the pre-season test times weren’t as bad as the race depicted on Sunday. Hence, Lewis Hamilton refuses to give up as the season has just started and the coming races might be more pleasant than this time around. The 40-year-old raised confidence in Maranello’s ability to turn the season around in their favor and unlock more performance from the chassis.
Hamilton insisted that the car had more performance than the team was able to extract over the Australian weekend. The race pace was even less than the team anticipated, something that the needed to work on desperately. The 40-year-old ruled out other issues in the challenger and highlighted that incorrect settings in the challenger might be the reason behind a failed stint in Melbourne.
I do believe the car has more performance than we were able to extract this weekend. It was even less performance, for example, in the race, but I think it’s all settings.
Lewis Hamilton noted.
The Tifosi and Ferrari have banked massive hopes on Hamilton to take the team back to their championship-winning days in Formula 1. The Briton will have to go up against Charles Leclerc and win the title in order to be labeled as the hero forever. The 2025 season has just begun and the team seems extremely motivated to contend for both championships this time around. Therefore, time will tell about how the year pans out for the Italian constructor.
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