Lewis Hamilton blames Ferrari’s switch settings after difficult debut race at Australian GP

Lewis Hamilton reckoned that his poor performance at Australian GP was in-part attributed to Ferrari's switch settings.

Lewis Hamilton blames Ferrari’s switch settings after difficult debut race at Australian GP

Lewis Hamilton (via Getty)

Lewis Hamilton made his Grand Prix debut for Scuderia Ferrari this weekend. The seven-time world champion was looking forward to kicking off the season in style. However, things have not gone as planned for Hamilton. The Briton has now pointed blame on Ferrari’s different switch settings compared to Mercedes.

Hamilton had a tough outing at Albert Park. The 40-year-old failed to make it into the Top 5 in Qualifying as the team lacked the pace of the likes of Ferrari and Red Bull. Sunday’s race was not much better. The F1 star barely managed to salvage a single point for Maranello as he finished in tenth place.

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Post-race, the seven-time world champion claimed that he was grateful to at least bring a solidary point for the team. Lewis Hamilton confessed that this was not what he was hoping for this weekend. However, the 40-year-old asserted that he was struggling to get accustomed to the various switch settings of the SF-25.

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I’m grateful to have finished, at least I got one point. Overall not what I was hoping for but there was so much to get accustomed to, with all the switch setting changes they were throwing at you and just the balance of the car.

Lewis Hamilton said post-race

Previously, Hamilton had admitted that he was learning the settings of Ferrari machinery which were quite different compared to Mercedes. However, it seems that the F1 star is still not comfortable and could take some more time to get used to his new car.

Lewis Hamilton hints at more potential in SF-25

Despite an underwhelming performance, Lewis Hamilton hoped that there was more pace in the car. During the race, Hamilton found himself in second place at one stage when he stayed out during wet conditions in a gamble which did not pay off for the team. Nevertheless, the 40-year-old could’ve been in the Top 5 if things had gone right.

Lewis Hamilton (via Ferrari)
Lewis Hamilton (via Ferrari)

The British driver admitted that things were really tricky during wet conditions. Nevertheless, Lewis Hamilton had faith in the Scuderia to improve further in the coming rounds. Hamilton highlighted that the team will need to get the car in a better set-up window as he believes that there’s still a lot more potential to extract from the SF-25.

Really really tricky today. Definitely, I think we can improve that in the next race. Get the car in a sweeter spot because I think there’s a lot more potential in the car than what we got to extract today.

Lewis Hamilton added

Hamilton’s teammate Charles Leclerc did not have a better weekend than Hamilton. The Monegasque did have a narrow edge on the 40-year-old, but could only manage eighth place in the race. After a tough start to the season, Maranello might need to go back to the drawing board.

Lewis Hamilton laments ‘missed opportunity’ over race strategy

Midway through the race, Ferrari was the only frontrunner alongside Max Verstappen to have stayed out on slicks. However, Red Bull called the Dutchman to pit after a couple of laps, while Hamilton and Leclerc continued to drive on slicks when the Safety Car was brought out.

Lewis Hamilton (via Ferrari)
Lewis Hamilton in the Ferrari garage (via Scuderia Ferrari)

Lewis Hamilton highlighted that during this period, rain became more intense particularly in the last sector. Moreover, the Briton claimed that the Ferrari pitwall failed to inform him about rain pouring on other parts of the circuit, when he was out on slicks.

[The rain] intensified a little bit in the last sector but the rest of the track was okay. Then it started raining, no one told me that it was raining more elsewhere and all of a sudden I was faced with it around the rest of the track.

Lewis Hamilton explained

As such, the seven-time world champion found himself on dry tires in treacherous conditions. Hamilton was disappointed with this strategy error. He claimed that this was a missed opportunity for the Scuderia. Nevertheless, he was content to have not lost control of the car.

Bit of an opportunity missed but I’m glad I kept it on track.

Lewis Hamilton added

Certainly, Lewis Hamilton will make his feelings known within the Ferrari garage. The British driver would be hoping to work with the team where things went wrong and what fixes can be made for the future. Such a discussion will be necessary considering this is just the start of a long-term partnership. However, it remains to be seen if Hamilton and Ferrari can bounce back stronger in the next race.