Lewis Hamilton remains upbeat despite an underwhelming qualifying result in Melbourne.
It was not the cleanest of sessions for the seven-time champion who wanted to get off to a flying start with his new team. But he could only qualify eighth fastest and that was after a spin in Q2 which, fortunately for the Brit, proved to be inconsequential.
Despite that unwanted result, Hamilton was still smiling after ticking off another “first” as a Ferrari driver. He said: “I generally feel good. I had a really good time out there today. Everything has been a first this weekend – my first FP1 in a Ferrari, my first practice sessions, my first qualifying.
“It’s been a lot of work to adapt to this car, which is so much different to what I have experienced in the past. But it’s been interesting. I definitely didn’t expect us to be eight or nine tenths off today, but there’s a lot to dissect for sure.” Hamilton could take some comfort from the fact he was only less than two tenths of a second slower than team-mate Charles Leclerc.
The Monegasque will start the race seventh meaning both Ferrari drivers have plenty of work to do if they are to score big points at the Australian Grand Prix. But as he still gets to grips with his new machinery, Hamilton said he is proud to have come so close to Leclerc’s best effort.
He said: “Charles has been in this team for seven years – he knows this car in and out, not necessarily the new one but the general characteristics of our cars, and all the tools and everything and I’m still learning those.
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“So to be that close in my first qualifying session, I’ll definitely take it. We’ll just get our heads down, start working and try to figure out why we’re not on pace with the front-runners.”
Though dark clouds threatened the Albert Park Circuit throughout qualifying, the rain stayed away this time. However, forecasts are predicting much more wet weather for Sunday’s race, which puts Hamilton in the same boat as the many other drivers on the grid who are either adapting to new teams or still getting used to F1 altogether.
He added: “Tomorrow is going to be a challenge – I’ve never driven this car in the rain and I don’t even know the rain settings, so I’ve got to study that tonight and it will be a learning experience again tomorrow.”
Lando Norris took pole position for the Melbourne race, leading a McLaren front row lockout ahead of team-mate Oscar Piastri. Third place was taken by Max Verstappen ahead of George Russell.
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