Ferrari were the biggest disappointment in qualifying for the Australian Grand Prix on Saturday. Charles Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton could only manage a fourth-row lock-out.
Leclerc, the lead car, was nearly seven-tenths adrift of pole-sitter Lando Norris. Hamilton was a further two-tenths back.
Considering that experts had said Ferrari were the quickest over one lap, they underachieved significantly. As well as the two McLarens, the Red Bull of Max Verstappen and the Mercedes of George Russell, they also lost out to Yuki Tsunoda (Racing Bulls) and Alex Albon (Williams).
The main solace for Ferrari at this point is that Sunday’s race is forecast to be wet. That could theoretically equalise performance at the front, wiping out their clear deficit in dry conditions.
Ferrari’s ‘stay out’ message to Lewis Hamilton angers Fred Vasseur at Australian Grand Prix
It was clear by the time Q3 started that Hamilton wasn’t in contention for a dream debut pole. He had to produce late laps to avoid a shock exit in the first two segments.
Ferrari were out of sync with their rivals in Q2 as Leclerc and Hamilton both attempted an extra run on the same set of tyres. The Briton had to eat into his allocation during Q1.
According to Sky Sports presenter Ted Kravitz, speaking on his ‘Notebook’ show, there was some confusion as to whether to box Hamilton. Engineer Riccardo Adami frantically told him to stay out in the end.
This apparently added to the frustration of team principal Fred Vasseur after qualifying. It was a day where Ferrari lacked both performance and execution.
“It was ‘phew’ for Lewis Hamilton,” Kravitz explained. “He was just into Q2 on his last run with a P6, having looked like he would have been out in Q1 if he’d messed up that last attempt. It was quite possible today for Lewis Hamilton to be out in Q1, it was that tight.
“And then, what Fred Vasseur, the team boss said, was that, whether they messed up the set-up or the execution or the running, they were out on track at the wrong time. Hamilton said on the team radio ‘am I boxing?’ and Riccardo Adami, his engineer, said yes.
“And then there was a ‘stay out, stay out’ that we’ve heard Ferrari say in the past. And Lewis was like ‘what happened there?’
“It’s a good question, and what happened was they didn’t have time to box him and put on new tyres. Anyway, he didn’t have new tyres left.
“It wasn’t anywhere near perfect today. And Fred Vasseur, the team boss, [was] a bit annoyed about it.”
What Lewis Hamilton’s former boss Toto Wolff said about Ferrari qualifying woes
Hamilton sounded confused on the radio after his final Q3 lap. Adami assured him that he’d done a good job overall.
Indeed, the seven-time world champion can be reasonably satisfied to be close to Leclerc, having started the weekend six-tenths adrift.
What’s more, his old boss Toto Wolff says Ferrari are quicker than they showed on Saturday. McLaren team principal Andrea Stella agreed.
But Hamilton will desperate to ensure the SF-25 doesn’t become a peaky car. That’s what he had to deal with for years at Mercedes, leaving him perplexed and frustrated in equal measure.
Leave a Reply