Lewis Hamilton got off to a disappointing start with his new Ferrari team as he finished 10th on debut at the pressure-filled Australian Grand Prix 2025 on Sunday.
The seven-time world champion was frustrated by a bad strategy that cost him a podium, and constant radio chatter throughout the difficult race won by McLaren’s Lando Norris.
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Hamilton, who started from eighth, spent the first third of it behind the rear wing of Williams’ Alex Albon, despite coming close to passing the Thai driver on a couple of occassions.
But he hit the lead on lap 46 after those ahead pitted for fresh intermediate tires. Hamilton, who was involved in plenty of radio chatter during the race, angrily stated over team radio that “we missed a big opportunity” after subsequent traffic and a late stop that dropped him back to ninth.
To add to his poor run, he dropped a further place to tenth after Oscar Piastri overtook the Brit in the final lap. Hamilton walked away with a solitary point.
“The rain always mixes things up and strategy comes down to timing and a bit of luck,” the 40-year-old said. “We took a gamble and made up places, but then boxing too late for Inters (intermediate tires) cost us, dropping us to the back of the top 10 with too much ground to recover.”
Hamilton also had trouble keeping his Ferrari in a straight line, showing just how much the Prancing Horse has to do to claw back its pace.
“I struggled with the balance, but it was an important race for learning more about the car and in different weather conditions, as well as gaining more experience working with a new team,” Hamilton said.
(With inputs from AP)
