Lewis Hamilton says that in the early stages of the Australian Grand Prix he was adapting his driving style to the demands of the Ferrari car package he is currently researching .
In the second SF-25, Charles Leclerc finished the first day in Melbourne at the top of the standings, but with a huge gap of 0.42 seconds over Hamilton in the second free practice session. The Briton was 0.6 seconds behind in the first practice session, which was led by Lando Norris.
Speaking to F1 TV after the second practice session, Hamilton said his first day driving for Ferrari on an official race weekend was “an incredible feeling, to be here at Ferrari”, after “an incredibly exciting start to the week,”
“Honestly, the car was noticeably different from anything I’ve experienced at this track before,” he added. “It took me a little while to adjust during the first practice.”
“The second practice was definitely better, but we are still building the pace. We are gradually improving and getting a little faster lap by lap.”
When asked to explain what differences he was referring to between the SF-25 and the Mercedes car by the end of 2024, Hamilton replied: “It’s just different. A lot different.”
“But the car doesn’t feel bad or anything like that. It just requires a different way of driving. So I’m adapting my driving style step by step and enjoying the ride.”
Hamilton’s driving style has previously relied on two key elements .
The first was stability under braking, where he often applied the brake pedal very late, keeping the car on the edge of skidding when entering a corner. The second element was aggressively working the front tires through a series of small movements during corner entry, which led to noticeable rear-end movement.
Historically, Hamilton has been able to control this rear-end instability and maintain high speed through corners.
At the end of pre-season testing in Bahrain, he stated that he had “still a lot to learn” when switching from Mercedes to Ferrari, which is apparently still ongoing.
