Lewis Hamilton Confronts Steep Learning Curve for Australian Grand Prix

Seven-time Formula One world champion, Lewis Hamilton, faces a steep learning curve as he prepares for the Australian Grand Prix. The Ferrari driver, who qualified eighth behind his teammate Charles Leclerc, expressed unfamiliarity with certain switches in wet conditions.

Unfamiliarity with Wet-Weather Switches

“Frickin’ hell, I’ve never driven the car in the wet,” Hamilton admitted on Saturday. “I don’t know which buttons I’m going to switch to tomorrow, so that’s going to be new.” The car uses Brembos for brakes, a system he hasn’t used for a long time. He is unsure about how the Brembos behave in wet conditions or what settings they will need to use with this car.

Predicted Wet Conditions

Wet conditions are predicted for Albert Park tomorrow, with a 70% chance of midday showers. Hamilton said, “When you qualify 8th you kind of hope for it to be wet, but I’ve only got three laps to learn the car in the wet and then get out [for the race],” he said. “It’s going to be a shock to the system, but I’m going to be learning on the fly and just giving it everything.”

Finding Confidence with Ferrari

Hamilton also admitted it had been a “slow process” finding “confidence” in the Ferrari. He explained, “When you have a problem with the car and you come in, normally when you’ve got the experience, you can say, ‘OK this is where I want to go with it’, but I don’t know which tool to use at the moment.” He heavily relies on his engineers for the first time, who he praised for their great job.

Exploring New Tools and Balance Differences

There are several items on the car that Hamilton is yet to explore. He said, “There’s a ton of tools that I’m still popping out like, ‘I’ve never tried that, what does it do?’” The overall feel of the Ferrari is also “so different” from the Silver Arrows he drove for the past 12 years. Hamilton explained, “Braking and through-corner balance is a lot different to what I had [at Mercedes],” he explained. “The mechanical balance shift is much, much different… and the high-speed balance, the low-speed balance is quite a shift.”

Improvements Throughout the Weekend

Despite being consistently behind Leclerc, Hamilton said he saw “improvements every single lap, session on session” throughout the weekend. He acknowledged, “I’ve been down all weekend to Charles, who just had it from the get-go from the minute he went out,” the seven-time world champion said. “He knew what the car does but I was just building up to that through the weekend, and I think I got a lot closer towards it in the end.”