Lewis Hamilton could only muster a P10 finish on his much-anticipated debut for Ferrari, while teammate Charles Leclerc finished two places above him at the season opener in Australia last weekend. A strategic blunder brought about Ferrari’s disappointing outing.
The Ferrari strategists failed to predict the intensity of the rain and pitted their drivers too late. The rest of the field came in to change tires almost immediately after the rain subsided despite portions of the track remaining wet. The two Ferrari drivers remained on slicks, losing time and positions in the subsequent laps.
Team boss Fred Vasseur was quick to acknowledge the error in judgment. He was also keen to address the other elephant in the Ferrari pit — miscommunication.
Hamilton struggled to communicate effectively with his new race engineer Riccardo Adami throughout the race. This led to a few tense exchanges too. Clearly, they have yet to understand each other’s ways of working.
With the Chinese Grand Prix right around the corner, Vasseur explained what the team needs to do to rectify the mistakes, including bridging communication gaps.
“It certainly wasn’t a clean race, but the strategy was difficult. We probably need to find a better way to communicate between the car and the pit lane. We’ll learn from this, but it’s not a problem,” Vasseur told Speedweek.
Going into the race weekend at the Shanghai International Circuit, Vasseur believes the team needs to understand Hamilton’s needs better.
“We need to improve communication and understand what Lewis expects from this communication. Only in such situations can we learn and be much better next week,” Vasseur added.
Ferrari chief responds to Lewis Hamilton doubts: “He will be able to perform”
— Ferrari team principal Fred Vasseur remains entirely confident in Lewis Hamilton’s ability to adapt to the team despite his initial struggles in Australia. The seven-time world champion finished 12th… pic.twitter.com/pbMpTYWBez
— This is Formula 1 (@ThisIsFormu1a1) March 14, 2025
Hamilton was expected to struggle a little in his initial days with Ferrari. His inexperience driving a Ferrari-powered car was one of the major factors spoken about. However, it seems the most basic and important aspect of all, the trust between the driver and his pit crew, has yet to be established too.
How can Ferrari improve communication with Hamilton?
On more than one occasion during the Grand Prix, Hamilton seemed irked by race engineer Adami. In the end, the seven-time world champion requested radio silence and wanted to be left alone during the race.
Former F1 driver and Sky Sports F1 analyst Karun Chandhok believes that it’s just a matter of time before they get along.
“He and his engineer Riccardo Adami need to have a bit more time to understand just how much communication Lewis wants and what type of information. They just need to build that bond,” explained Chandhok.
The #44 driver has also been pretty vocal about his struggles adapting to the SF-25. Since his debut in 2007, the Briton has only driven Mercedes-powered cars.
This meant that he had yet to get fully accustomed to the various tools he had at his disposal while driving the car in the opening race. “The settings it [the engine] requires are different, and a different way of driving and a different set-up on the steering wheel,” Hamilton said, as per Sky Sports F1.
Given Hamilton’s experience and going by the way he ran the race in Australia till the botched pit stop, the Brit should be up to speed with the car’s quirks for the upcoming race. Hopefully, like Vasseur mentioned, Adami would have sorted his part of the game as well.
