Lewis Hamilton sent a message to his Ferrari engineer after qualifying in P8 for the Australian GP (Image: SKY SPORTS)
Ferrari star was left with more questions than answers after ahead of the Australian Grand Prix. The 40-year-old will start Sunday’s race in P8 after finishing almost a second off pole-sitter in Q3.
Hamilton joined from over the winter in the hope of finally landing an elusive eighth world title. But he may already be redefining his expectations after spinning his car in Q2 and clocking a slower time than Racing Bulls star and Williams ace in Q3. And his struggles on the Albert Park circuit were summed up by a message he sent over his team radio.
Hamilton has a new race engineer at after teaming up with Riccardo Adami, who has previously worked with and Sebastian Vettel.
And after his performance in qualifying, the veteran told Adami: “I don’t know what happened there, mate.”
The engineer was quick to reassure the blockbuster star, however, as he replied: “Tough one. Overall good job out there.”
The exchange may have been noteworthy due to Hamilton’s honest admission, but it wasn’t broadcast by Sky Sports F1 at the time as the television cameras instead focused on the top three.
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Lewis Hamilton is eyeing up a record eighth F1 world title this year after joining Ferrari (Image: GETTY)
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Hamilton endured a tough time in qualifying during his final season with as he finished ahead of his former Silver Arrows team-mate on only five occasions.
And new colleague Charles Leclerc got the upper hand during the first qualifying session of 2025 as he ended the day one place ahead of Hamilton. But the duo will both have to improve if they are to help launch onto the podium in Melbourne.
“It has been a big learning curve this weekend,” Hamilton explained after Saturday’s session. “The car felt so different to anything I have ever experienced here, and it has been a lot slower process to build confidence in the car.”
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He then added: “If you look at the high speed I have been down all weekend to Charles, who had it from the get-go because he knew what the car does.
“For me, I have built up towards it through the weekend and I got closer and, to be that close to Charles in my first qualifying session in the car against a great qualifier, I am happy.”
The Australian Grand Prix will get underway at 4am GMT on Sunday morning, with Norris the favourite to clinch victory from pole. , who finished third in qualifying, is the second favourite to win the race after claiming four F1 Drivers’ Championship titles in a row.