Lewis Hamilton says he’s “closely reliant” on his engineers as he continues to regulate to driving Ferrari’s F1 automotive.
The seven-time world champion certified eighth behind new teammate Charles Leclerc on the season-opening Australian Grand Prix, which marks his first aggressive outing for Ferrari.
Hamilton was 0.218s slower than Leclerc and a large 0.877s behind Lando Norris, who claimed pole place and led a dominant McLaren front-row lockout within the first qualifying session of the season in Melbourne.
After his debut qualifying look for F1’s most iconic workforce, Hamilton, who spent 12 seasons with Mercedes, admitted he thought he was additional alongside in his studying of Ferrari’s 2025 challenger.
“I truthfully thought I used to be additional alongside than I used to be after which I acquired right here for P1, and I used to be like, ‘I nonetheless acquired a strategy to go’,” Hamilton stated. “There’s nonetheless a ton of instruments that I am nonetheless not there on.
“When you will have an issue within the automotive and also you are available in, usually if you’ve acquired the expertise, you’ll be able to say, ‘Hey, that is the place I wish to go along with it.’ However I do not know which instruments to make use of in the intervening time. I am closely reliant, for the primary time, on my engineers.
“They’ve achieved a terrific job however prior to now I’d say, ‘Bono, that is what I need. That setting, this setting.’ And I can not try this in the intervening time.”
The 40-year-old Briton conceded he’s nonetheless unfamiliar with the right way to get the perfect out of Ferrari’s equipment.
Hamilton is attending to grips together with his Ferrari after his swap from Mercedes
“There is a ton of instruments that I am nonetheless coming out like, ‘I’ve by no means tried that, what does it do?’” Hamilton added.
“Braking and through-corner stability is so much totally different to what I had [at Mercedes]. The mechanical stability shift is far, a lot totally different… and the high-speed stability, the low-speed stability is sort of a shift.
“I have been down all weekend to Charles, who simply had it from the get-go from the minute he went out. He knew what the automotive does however I used to be simply constructing as much as that by the weekend, and I feel I acquired so much nearer in the direction of it in the long run.”
Hamilton at the hours of darkness about Ferrari’s moist switches
And Hamilton is bracing for a brand new problem altogether, if forecast rain hits Albert Park for Sunday’s grand prix.
Hamilton has not but pushed the SF-25 within the moist and admitted he presently lacks data of the automotive’s switches for such situations.
“Frickin’ hell, I’ve by no means pushed the automotive within the moist,” he defined. “I do not know which buttons I will swap to tomorrow, in order that’s going to be new.
“We’re utilizing Brembos, which I’ve not used for a protracted, very long time. So I don’t understand how the Brembos behave within the moist, or what settings we’ll have to make use of with this automotive.
“If you qualify eighth you form of hope for it to be moist, however I’ve solely acquired three laps to be taught the automotive within the moist after which get out [for the race].
“It’s going to be a shock to the system, however I will be studying on the fly and simply giving it all the things.”
