“Oh my god,” Lewis Hamilton recalls shocking moment before strategy disaster at Australian GP
Lewis Hamilton revealed the one moment which caught him off-guard just before a strategy blunder at the Australian GP.
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Lewis Hamilton (via IMAGO)
Lewis Hamilton‘s Ferrari debut at the Australian GP did not meet expectations. After a positive preseason test in Bahrain, things almost fell apart at Albert Park. However, the seven-time world champion confessed that at one point, he seemed to be in contention for the race victory.
Rain made the first race of the season a challenging affair for drivers. The tricky conditions made it difficult for drivers to stay on track, with Oscar Piastri losing the most ground midway through the Grand Prix. While Lewis Hamilton and Ferrari decided to take a big gamble by not pitting and hoping to skip an extra pitstop.
When the 40-year-old stayed out, initially he was behind Max Verstappen. However, the four-time world champion soon went into the pits, leaving Hamilton in the race lead. Lewis Hamilton confessed that as he inherited the race lead, he realized that he was leading for the first time in a Ferrari.
In that moment, I don’t know, I was like, ‘oh my God, I’m so—.’ I was leading for a second.
Lewis Hamilton said, as quoted by GPBlog
Unfortunately, this feeling did not last for long. The seven-time world champion ultimately had to come for intermediate tires as conditions only got worse. This meant that Hamilton lost crucial time and lost any prospects of even contending for a spot in the Top 5.
Lewis Hamilton recalls reason for staying out
The seven-time world champion made a bold call with the Ferrari pitwall to stay out on track. Though, the Briton later admitted that he was unaware that rain would continue to pour down on the surface for longer than the team initially anticipated.
Lewis Hamilton mentioned that when he stayed out, only the final sector seemed to be in a treacherous state with drivers losing grip and going off-track. However, the British driver highlighted that he had managed to keep his car on-track even in that area of the circuit, allowing him to inherit a couple of places.
The last sector everyone was going off, but I was managing to hold it on, so I was just passing people.
Lewis Hamilton added
Moreover, the 40-year-old pointed out that the track seemed almost dry once he crossed the main straight. This gave him confidence that he could manage to skip the extra pitstop and gain an advantage over his rivals by staying out for a few more laps.
Once I got past the start line it was dry, so I was like, ‘it’s fine for me, I’ll just hold this out. I’ve only got a few more laps to go.
Lewis Hamilton noted
Though, this strategy call did not work as planned. Lewis Hamilton ultimately tumbled down the order and could only bring home a single point in tenth place. The seven-time world champion would be hoping to bounce back after this underwhelming run.
Are Lewis Hamilton and Ferrari not fast?
Lewis Hamilton and Scuderia Ferrari have massive ambitions for this season. The new partnership aims to at least fight for the world championship this year against the likes of McLaren’s Lando Norris and Red Bull’s Max Verstappen. However, the Australian GP will be a major setback for Hamilton as he did not seem comfortable during his debut weekend.
The seven-time world champion initially blamed the pitwall for not telling him how long the rain was actually going to continue. He reckoned that this would’ve allowed him to pit earlier and not lose as much time. Moreover, Hamilton even suggested that the switch settings of the car made things even more difficult for him.
It seems that Lewis Hamilton will need more time to completely adjust to Ferrari. The 40-year-old simply won’t be able to perform at his best if he is not confident in the team. After just a tenth place result, the Scuderia will need to extract more pace from its car to show that it has a real shot at battling at the front of the grid this year.
Nevertheless, fans will have to wait for the next round of the season in China to get a clearer picture of Lewis Hamilton’s debut season with Ferrari. Whether, things will improve for Hamilton or if he is set for a difficult campaign at Maranello.
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