F1 Australian Grand Prix: Hamilton's 'sharp tongue' and a tale of 'unforgiveable guilt', Italian media react

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

Australian Grand Prix

Hamilton's 'sharp tongue' and a tale of 'unforgiveable guilt' - Italian media react to the Australian GP

A view from Italy

Sheona Mountford F1 Journalist

Motorsport journalist working in F1 since 2024.

Monday 9 March 2026 12:57

The shrimp's been taken off the barbie and the sun has set over the Australian Grand Prix. Now the dust has settled, it's time for a round-up of the F1 2026 season opener.

You've watched, read and listened to just about everything the English media has had to say about the big race in Melbourne, from renditions of 'God save George Russell' (probably) and lamentations that those '2026 cars are a bit naff'.

Now it's time to hop on a Ryanair flight (other airline operators are available), wave goodbye to England and exclaim 'ciao Italia!', as we get a more cosmopolitan take on events at Albert Park.

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Why you ask? Because there's a surreal lyricism to the way the Italians review an F1 weekend, and it needs to be shared far and wide.

Right then, I'll cease waffling. Let's read what the Italian media had to say about Ferrari, Lewis Hamilton and the rest of the F1 grid in Australia.

LEWIS HAMILTON: Career record with every pole, win and title

Lewis Hamilton praised, Newey ridiculed

Let's start with Corriere della Sera, who finally had reason to praise Ferrari's performance in Melbourne, giving their team a score of eight out of 10, and drivers Hamilton and Charles Leclerc an 8 and 7.5 respectively.

In praising Leclerc, they wrote: "Adapting Archimedes of Syracuse's 'Give me a foothold and I'll move the world' into 'Give me a good Ferrari and I'll take it to the top', Charles, newly married, has galloped ahead of the Ferrari's progress. It's the 51st podium of his career, and it will inspire confidence."

For Hamilton, a slightly more critical review, but nonetheless, hope for his 2026. His rating read: "It's nice to see him finally with renewed grit, to the point of trying, in the finale, to threaten his teammate's podium finish. If you want to nitpick, after initially closing in on the Leclerc-Russell duo, his performance has become less incisive. But Lewis will, by all accounts, count this season!"

They then went on to discuss Oscar Piastri's crash before the race had even started, lamenting: "He crashed on the formation lap, just like Isack Hadjar did a year ago when he was driving for Racing Bulls. The Franco-Algerian then redeemed himself with a season of steady improvement, so much so that he ended up at Red Bull alongside Verstappen.

"So one swallow doesn't make a summer, but Piastri bears the unforgivable guilt of leaving his home GP, in front of 138,000 spectators in Melbourne."

Aston Martin and Honda were not spared from shame, with Newey receiving a rating of two and Honda, a zero...

Their appraisal read: "The F1 genius may have botched the Aston Martin relaunch project (unspeakable, 0 points: Stroll finished last, Alonso retired but then returned to the track to rack up the miles, as if he were testing) and, speaking to the press—always a man of few words—tried to claim that it was mostly the fault of the Japanese Honda and their inadequate power unit. But sometimes the heel you try to put in is worse than the hole you have to fill."

Then moving onto Honda, they added: "Here we go again. When the Japanese engine manufacturer returned in 2015 with McLaren, it was a complete flop (so much so that in Woking, after three unsuccessful seasons, they switched back to Mercedes engines).

"Now, with Aston Martin, it seems like we're in for a repeat of that disaster: the Honda that powered the victorious Williams, Lotus, and McLaren itself in the 1980s and 1990s is now just a memory."

Trouble at mill? Hamilton's sharp tongue with Santi

Elsewhere, Sky Sports Italia noticed the underlying tension in Hamilton's new relationship with interim race engineer Carlo Santi. They wrote: "Oh, who's back? Perhaps his best performance since he's been wearing red. He even leads the field a few times.

"Revived and sharp as usual with his tongue in his radio messages. And Saturday's Sprint in China brings back fond memories."

Sky Sports gave Piastri a disastrous score of zero, and noted: "Oh God, maybe it's the car's fault and he has nothing to do with it, but not even reaching the starting grid in his home GP, well..."

Maybe not the biggest storyline from the Australian Grand Prix, but certainly my favourite rating, was for Haas star Ollie Bearman.

It read simply: "The Little Bear always scratches. He scores points for Haas, and that's a great result."

Delightful.

Written by

Sheona Mountford - F1 Journalist

Sheona Mountford is a motorsport journalist specialising in F1. As a writer and contributor, she covers a wide range of motorsport series from F1 to F1 Academy, responsible for breaking news, live race coverage and in depth analysis of the sport and the culture around it.

View full biography

Lewis Hamilton Ferrari Australian Grand Prix