Lewis Hamilton admits he ‘doesn’t know the rain settings’ as brutal Ferrari debut poised | F1 | Sport
Lewis Hamilton is facing a challenging debut with Ferrari after admitting that he ‘doesn’t know the rain settings’ for the SF-25. The seven-time world champion was eighth-fastest on Saturday at the Australian Grand Prix, qualifying one spot behind new team-mate Charles Leclerc.
Ferrari expected to be fighting McLaren for pole position around the Albert Park Circuit, but the Prancing Horse were left licking their wounds after both cars qualified on the fourth row of the grid, behind both Yuki Tsunoda and Alex Albon.
For Hamilton, this was no disaster. The Brit avoided any major scares with the elimination zone despite spinning at the end of his final Q2 lap and was close to Leclerc in Q3. Sunday’s race, however, will be a different beast.
Speaking to Sky Sports F1, he said: “I generally feel good. Yeah, I had a really good time out there. Everything has been a first this weekend – my first P1 with Ferrari, my first practice sessions and qualifying, and it has been a lot of work to really adapt to this car that is so much different here to what I have experienced in the past.
“But it has been interesting. I mean I definitely didn’t expect us to be… I didn’t know that we would be nine tenths off, or eight tenths off today, but there is a lot to dissect for sure.”
Looking ahead to the Grand Prix, he continued: “We’ll just get our heads down and start working [to] try and find out why we’re not on pace with the frontrunners.
“Tomorrow is going to be a challenge. I’ve never even driven this car in the rain. I don’t even know the rain settings, so I’ve got to go and study that tonight and it will be a learning experience again tomorrow.”
While Ferrari were slower than expected, McLaren delivered on their pre-season promise. Lando Norris pipped team-mate Oscar Piastri to pole position with Max Verstappen a couple of notches behind the duo in P3.
However, the pecking order could be reshuffled on Sunday with rain forecasted to hit the Albert Park Circuit. Verstappen will be licking his lips after dominating in the last wet race in Brazil, although Hamilton will also fancy his chances as a wet-weather specialist.
