F1 News
Unhappy Hamilton's blunt conclusion after a difficult FP1 session with Ferrari
Lewis Hamilton has responded to his Ferrari team sharply after having a difficult first practice session in Australia. The seven-time world champion didn't have the fairytale start that many fans might've been hoping for, ending the first session in 12th place. His teammate Charles Leclerc finished the session in third place. Martin Brundle suggested that Hamilton had been involved in an 'alarming' first session after a solid start.
"I'm struggling to turn the car," was Hamilton's simple message over the team radio. The 105-time Grand Prix winner's much anticipated Ferrari debut has not gone to plan so far. In the first of three practice sessions, Hamilton ended in P12, over eight-tenths off the pace.
Brundle: 'Alarming' session for Hamilton
"What alarmed me a little bit was that Lewis came out the back of the garage wearing his crash helmet," Martin Brundle began on Sky Sports. "Which I never think is a good sign, having done that myself as well. I think he'll be a little bit frustrated with that first session. He looked pretty good early on, but it depends if he had some issues, we'll find out later." The former F1 driver concluded.
Around 20 minutes of the session were lost after a gravel kickup caused a red flag. Oliver Bearman's heavy crash just minutes later meant that a separate delay hampered more running for Hamilton.
The seven-time world champion still has two practice sessions to learn more about the SF-25 and his new team. Of course, an adjustment period to Ferrari is to be expected after 12 years at Mercedes. The Brit was highly complimentary of his new team and his Ferrari journey on media day in Melbourne and has two more sessions to fix these things problems before qualifying on Saturday.
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