Lewis Hamilton’s first qualifying with Ferrari ended with an eighth-place finish, and rain is expected in Melbourne tomorrow..
It wasn’t a dream qualifying for Lewis Hamilton, his first with Ferrari. The seven-time world champion finished in eighth place on the Melbourne circuit, behind his teammate Charles Leclerc. A disappointing result for Ferrari, which, after the second free practice session, had strongly positioned itself for pole position and the front two rows. The rain, expected for tomorrow’s race, could shuffle the deck, and the British lion may be hoping for just that.
Lewis himself, when questioned after qualifying, did not appear demoralized and tried to explain what went wrong in Q3. These were his words: “In Q3, I started with used tires, and until the last corner, the feeling was good. With the new set, I was doing a good lap, but the wind direction changed, as did the temperature and the car’s balance. It was a drastic change, almost overnight, and it surprised us. It was the same for everyone, but we still have room for growth.”
The British driver then added: “I am satisfied with the progress made over the weekend. Day by day, we’ve optimized the car, bringing it to a better condition. In many areas, I was very far off because the car behaves quite differently compared to the Mercedes, so it took me time to adapt and start gaining confidence. However, I think I got pretty close to Charles in the end, and that’s a positive aspect. We are farther away than we expected, and we need to understand why.”
Photo: X Scuderia Ferrari
