F1 Australian Grand Prix: Lewis Hamilton questions Ferrari strategy

Lewis Hamilton, Ferrari, Australia, 2026 — Photo: © IMAGO

Australian Grand Prix

F1 legend Lewis Hamilton questions Ferrari over Australian Grand Prix strategy

One race into 2026 and Ferrari have already botched their strategy

Kerry Violet F1 News Editor

F1 editor and journalist covering motorsport since 2024.

Sunday 8 March 2026 12:54 Updated: 15:04

F1 legend Lewis Hamilton wasted no time in questioning Ferrari's strategy, or lack thereof, after the Scuderia made a questionable decision at the season-opening Australian Grand Prix.

Sunday marked the first race of the new season where the chassis and power unit regulations have been completely overhauled, with Mercedes seemingly at the top of the competitive order having taken their first 1-2 of the year in Melbourne.

Ferrari's driver duo of Hamilton and his team-mate Charles Leclerc crossed the line after the Silver Arrows, with the Brit telling media that his former team appeared quicker and that Ferrari's result of P3 and P4 was, 'probably the maximum results' they were going to get on Sunday.

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But with seven drivers' championships to his name, Hamilton knows a race-altering mistake when he sees one, and made a point of confronting Ferrari over their decision to not pit either driver when a virtual safety car was called on lap 12.

After Red Bull's Isack Hadjar was once again unable to finish the Australian GP having suffered a technical failure with his new machinery, F1's governing body brought out the virtual safety car.

But as Ferrari's rivals rushed into the pits to take advantage of the situation, race leader Leclerc and Hamilton, who had jumped up to P2 after an impressive start, were both left out on track.

Hamilton must continue to confront Ferrari disagreements

After driving past the pit entrance without being summoned by the Scuderia, Hamilton jumped on to team radio to tell histemporary race engineer Carlo Santi: "At least one of us should have come in."

This was a sentiment that F1 broadcasting legend Martin Brundle wholeheartedly agreed with given the VSC could have ended at any minute, saying during the live coverage: "Lewis is absolutely right."

Though the 41-year-old may have backed down on his opinion that Ferrari made the wrong decision on the pit wall after the race, it shows he is still not getting what he needs from his new team.

There is evidently plenty of work to be done if the Italian squad want to bring an end to the longest gap they have ever experienced between winning either the drivers' or constructors' championship.

Ferrari's Australian GP strategy will 'raise questions'

Speaking during Sunday's broadcast, Sky Sports F1 analyst Bernie Collins tried to make sense of Ferrari's thinking, saying: "Lewis Hamilton was quite strong on the radio, particularly under that first VSC, saying ‘why didn’t we do one car, at least?’

"I was surprised initially that Mercedes double stacked because they were quite close together, but they were pretty confident in what they wanted to do.

"And then in the second VSC, Charles Leclerc was just at the safety car line when the VSC was released, and Lewis a bit further back.

"But the yellow flag had been out for 19 seconds at that point, so potentially for Lewis, there was time for Ferrari to react, and that will raise some questions."

Collins, who was previously an F1 strategist with Aston Martin, then recruited Sky analyst and former driver Anthony Davidson to act out the sort of discussion that Ferrari should have had with Hamilton, demonstrating to viewers how simple it would have been for the Scuderia to prevent making the error in the early stages of Sunday's race.

Lewis Hamilton Ferrari Australian Grand Prix 2026 regulations