- The seven-time champion was more than two tenths behind Charles Leclerc
- He even admitted he does not know where his wet switch is in his new Ferrari
- The race in Melbourne on Sunday is expected to be affected by downpours
Lewis Hamilton has made the startling admission that he doesn’t even know where the wet switch is in his new Ferrari ahead of what is forecast to be rain-doused Australian Grand Prix.
The seven-time world champion qualified a disappointing eighth in his first competitive outing in the red car since his £50million-a-year move from Mercedes.
Hamilton was more than two-tenths behind team-mate Charles Leclerc, seventh on the grid that sees McLaren locking out the front row with Lando Norris on pole and Melburnian Oscar Piastri alongside him.
Max Verstappen starts third, and may need the rain to launch his title defence with victory.
As for Hamilton and Ferrari, they suffered the ignominy of qualifying behind not only Mercedes’ George Russell, fourth, but also Racing Bulls’ Yuki Tsunoda and Williams’ Alex Albon.
Hamilton was strangely cheery as he talked about his new team’s woeful afternoon, saying: ‘I have never driven the car in the wet. I don’t even know where the wet switch is. I don’t know which buttons I have got to switch so that is going to be new. We are using Brembo brakes, which I have not used since I was much younger.
Lewis Hamilton admitted he was learning on the fly with Ferrari after qualifying eighth
The seven-time world champion survived a spin during the second session in Melbourne
He finished more than two-tenths behind Charles Leclerc but struck a positive tone
‘What settings am I going to have to use with this car? It is all different.
‘When you qualify eighth you hope for it to be wet, but for me I have got three laps to learn the car in the wet, and then I have got to go out and race.
‘The wet has often been something I have enjoyed. Growing up in the UK, it has been a comfort zone for me. But for the first time in the wet I will be in an uncomfortable position. It will be a shock to the system when I get out there. I will be learning on the fly and giving it everything.’
In truth, Hamilton has made an underwhelming start on his maiden voyages during a race weekend – outperformed by Leclerc by between two and six-tenths across three practice sessions and qualifying.
The official line from Ferrari is that their star signing is getting up to speed, feeling his way around his new equipment, and that all will be well in the end.
Hamilton added: ‘I have just been improving every single lap, session on session. It has been a big learning curve this weekend. The car felt so much different from what I have ever experienced here.
‘If you look at the high speed I have been down all weekend to Charles, who had it from the get-go because he knew what the car does. For me, I got closer and I am happy to be that close to Charles in my first qualifying session against a great qualifier.’
Asked about the process of understanding his Ferrari, the 40-year-old added: ‘I thought I was further along than I was. I got to P1, and I was like Jeez I have still got a long way to go. I don’t know which tool to use at the moment, so I am heavily relying on my engineers for the first time.
‘In the past I would say I want this setting, that setting, and I can’t do that at the moment.’
