Lewis Hamilton is gearing up for his Ferrari F1 debut, and has been left with an “upside down” feeling from his time at Mercedes.

Lewis Hamilton has described how Ferrari‘s data traces appear to be “upside down” compared to what he became accustomed to at Mercedes.

Following 12 seasons at Brackley, Hamilton traded Mercedes for Ferrari this year and has been learning how to best utilise a Ferrari power unit for the first time after only previously using Mercedes power during his career, now in its 19th year.

Pouring over the data during his acclimatisation, Hamilton revealed how it did not make sense to him initially.

“I’m still learning the car and it is quite different to what I’ve driven in my previous career, in the sense of the Mercedes power into Ferrari power, it is something quite new, different vibrations, different feelings and a different way of working,” Hamilton told media including RacingNews365.

“I was sitting looking at the race-trace from last year and it is upside down compared to the previous one. I am looking at it and don’t understand it at all.

“So looking at things from a different perspective makes it exciting and challenging. This is definitely the most exciting period of my life and I’m really enjoying it.”

During his two previous Australian GPs with new teams, Hamilton finished third for McLaren in 2007 and fifth for Mercedes in 2013.

When asked what his expectations were for the weekend, the Briton did not initially give a firm prediction, detailing how he wanted to maximise his performance.

“I definitely hope to be in the top 10,” he said.

“What would I be happy with coming away from this weekend? I don’t know, but I don’t have expectations, I just want to ultimately come away knowing that I’ve given absolutely everything and I’ve excelled in the way that I know I can.

“That I’ve felt comfortable in the car and just putting one foot in front of the other.

“I don’t know what that means in results, and of course, we won’t know until tomorrow where we truly stand within the top teams, but I’m hoping that we’re able to compete for the top five, so somewhere in that space.”

Also interesting:

In a special episode of the RacingNews365 podcast, Ian Parkes and Nick Golding are joined by 13-time F1 race winner David Coulthard! Red Bull’s current problems, Lando Norris fighting Max Verstappen and Lewis Hamilton now racing for Ferrari are just a few of the big talking points!

Rather watch the podcast? Then click here!