Why Ferrari boss was ‘irritated’ after Lewis Hamilton radio message throughout qualifying

Lewis Hamilton was told to stay out on track during the first part of qualifying for the Australian Grand Prix and Ferrari team boss Fred Vasseur was reportedly ‘annoyed’

Ferrari chief Fred Vasseur allegedly expressed frustration after learning that Lewis Hamilton was instructed via team radio to remain on the track during Australian Grand Prix qualifying. The seven-time world champion narrowly escaped elimination in the initial qualifying round but eventually made it to Q3 and secured a P8 start for Sunday’s race.

Hamilton had swapped Mercedes for Ferrari during the off-season, following a decline in performance over his last three years with the Silver Arrows. He is now determined to reclaim his position at the front of the grid.

However, Ferrari still appears to have some catching up to do, as Hamilton finished qualifying nearly a second behind pole-sitter Lando Norris.

Hamilton will be well aware that he must improve his qualifying performance to compete with the likes of Norris, Oscar Piastri, and Max Verstappen on Sunday.

Yet, Saturday’s qualifying session could have ended much worse for the British driver. Sky Sports presenter Ted Kravitz shared insights into Vasseur’s discontent on his Notebook program, reports the Express.

“It was ‘phew’ for Lewis Hamilton,” Kravitz began. “He was just into Q2 on his last run with a P6, having looked like he would have been out in Q1 if he’d messed up that last attempt. It was quite possible today for Lewis Hamilton to be out in Q1 – it was that tight.

“And then what Fred Vasseur, the team boss, said was that whether they messed up the set-up or the execution or the running, they were out on track at the wrong time. Hamilton said on the team radio, ‘Am I boxing?’. And Riccardo Adami, his engineer, said, ‘Yes.'”.

“And then there was a, ‘Stay out, stay out’ that we’ve heard Ferrari say in the past. And Lewis was like, ‘What happened there?'”.

“It’s a good question, and what happened was they didn’t have time to box him and put on new tyres. Anyway, he didn’t have new tyres left.

“It wasn’t anywhere near perfect today. And Fred Vasseur, the team boss, [was] a bit annoyed about it.”

Lewis Hamilton, hot on the heels of his Ferrari team-mate Charles Leclerc, is prepped to take off just behind the Monegasque ace in Sunday’s race after clocking in just a smidge slower in qualifying. The 40 year old powerhouse detailed his warm-up to the big day: “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.”