MELBOURNE: Lewis Hamilton's relationship with his new Ferrari team was pressure tested in Australia, where he finished a disappointing 10th on debut, and was frustrated by a bad strategy Sunday that cost him a potential victory, and constant radio chatter throughout the difficult race won by McLaren's Lando Norris.
Hamilton started eighth, and spent the first third of it behind the rear wing of Williams' Alex Albon. But, while the seven-time world champion hit the lead on lap 46 after those ahead pitted for fresh intermediate tires, Hamilton angrily stated over team radio that “we missed a big opportunity” after subsequent traffic and a late stop dropped him back to ninth.
Dropping a further place to tenth after Oscar Piastri overtook the Brit in the final lap did little to lighten Hamilton's mood.
“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.