F1 champion Lewis Hamilton set for Ferrari talks after disastrous debut

Lewis Hamilton, Ferrari, Australia, 2025 — Photo: © IMAGO

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Lewis Hamilton set for Ferrari talks after disastrous debut

Lewis Hamilton's Ferrari career has got off to a difficult start

Sheona Mountford F1 Journalist

Motorsport journalist working in F1 since 2024.

Monday 17 March 2025 08:27

Lewis Hamilton's first race with Ferrari got off to a disastrous start, with a series of team radio messages delivered to his new race engineer highlighting the Formula 1 champion's frustration.

The 40-year-old finished the Australian Grand Prix in 10th, and his frustrations with Ferrari's pace could be heard over team radio with his new race engineer Riccardo Adami.

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Hamilton's long-term race engineer Peter Bonnington did not follow the champion to Ferrari, where he has instead inherited Carlos Sainz's former race engineer.

However, Hamilton seemed annoyed at Adami's constant chatter during the race in Melbourne, often being asked to be left alone as he tried to tackle the wet conditions.

Lewis Hamilton finished P10 in his first race with Ferrari

Riccardo Adami is now Lewis Hamilton's race engineer

Hamilton's Ferrari debut gets off to a nightmare start

Following the race, Sky Sports F1 pundit Karun Chandhok claimed it would take a while for Hamilton's relationship to develop with his race engineer, and suggested they will have a conversation ahead of the Chinese GP.

"One of the things that came out of all the radio messages we played as 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," Chandhok said on Sky Sports F1.

"There were a number of times Lewis asked, tell me something, they would give him information but then Lewis said it's too much, stop telling him and leave it to me. They just need to build that bond.

"Race engineers and drivers will spend more time together than they do with their partners in the season. It's still round one and they just have to find their feet, maybe have a conversation between now and China. I would be interested to listen to the radio in China and see if it's different. They just need to have a conversation."