Lewis Hamilton makes emotions clear after Ferrari Australian Grand Prix complaints
Lewis Hamilton made his feelings clear about his Ferrari fortunes in the Australian Grand Prix after complaining about the strategy decision
Lewis Hamilton made his feelings clear about the Australian Grand Prix
Lewis Hamilton was ultimately left in a good mood after the Australian Grand Prix despite taking aim at the strategy call earlier in the race.
The opening race of the 2026 season marked a new era in Formula One and Ferrari are hoping to be right at the top of the field. The Albert Park race certainly vindicated the pre-season feeling as Charles Leclerc finished on the podium with Hamilton just over half a second behind in P4.
Mercedes and George Russell came through on their tags as pre-season favourites as the Brit took his seventh Grand Prix victory with team-mate Kimi Antonelli in second. But the Scuderia had both cars in contention for the race win before Isack Hadjar’s mechanical failure caused a Virtual Safety Car.
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Hamilton was left frustrated with Ferrari’s strategy as they opted not to box either car during the VSC while both of their Mercedes rivals took the advantage of stopping under the yellow flags.
“At least one of us should have come in!” Hamilton said on the radio. But he soon received worse news as the Brit was told Russell was just 10 seconds behind. “How are they only 10 seconds?!” he asked back perplexed.
Leclerc was later pitted on lap 25 with Hamilton stopping a couple of laps after, but the two Ferraris were unable to make any serious inroads to the Mercedes lead and finished less than a second apart from each other.
But after the chequered flag, Hamilton was positive about the opening race despite the strategy call potentially costing him a first Ferrari podium. “I have to go back and have a look but I’m generally really proud of the team,” he said.
“They have done an amazing job to get the car to where it is. Of course, we are not as fast at Mercedes and we have work to do but we are right in the fight.
“It was a really fun race and it felt good or me. A couple more laps and I would have had Charles, so I had great pace. Lots of positives to take from today.”
He continued: “All weekend I’ve been really strong. Qualifying didn’t show the true pace. We had a few problems through qualifying which meant I was further back than I should have been.”
Hamilton was partnered with a new engineer Carlo Santi after Riccardo Adami was replaced following a number of frosty interactions between the two over the team radio.
Unlike last year, the mood was certainly brighter for Hamilton as he thanked Santi and the rest of the team. “Mega race, very solid second stint, was super fast,” Santi said.
To which Hamilton replied: “Great effort guys, really great job. Gracias everyone back at the factory. Solid points for the team, lets keep pushing.”
