Lewis Hamilton says he felt outside his comfort zone when he drove towards the Ferrari after finishing 10th in the Australian Grand Prix.
Ferrari struggled in the third quarter on Saturday, with Hamilton starting from first place, eighth, behind teammate Charles Leclerc. He was stuck in traffic due to a long spell in wet state, and advanced as the driver was about to negotiate more rain during the slick.
“It’s okay sometimes (it’s out of my comfort zone), but today it definitely didn’t feel that way (OK), today it felt like we were at a deep, deep end,” Hamilton said. “For the first time since I first drove this car in the rain, the car was behaving very differently than what I’ve experienced in the past. The power unit, all the steering functions, everything that can be thrown at you are trying to juggle all these new things.
“Unfortunately, they said it was just a short shower and I was like, ‘I’m going to hold it down,’ so the rest of the truck was dry, so “I’m going to stick it out as much as I can and keep it on the truck.” They didn’t say they’d come more. And then, all of a sudden, more came.
“So I think it was just that little bit of information in the end. But unfortunately, I wasn’t confident about it today. Next week we’ll make some changes to the car, setup.”
Hamilton spent most of the race trying to find a way past Alex Albon, but he climbed to the lead while in a rain shower, but eventually the safety car was deployed and had to make a pit stop when he left the front runner.
“At that moment I don’t know, I was, ‘Oh my god, I’m third!” I was leading for a moment. I don’t know if there’s a place close to the pace like McLaurence had today, but I think there’s more performance in the actual car. I don’t think I unlocked this week. ”
One aspect of the race, which focused much on television broadcasts, was the interaction between Hamilton and race engineer Riccarded Adami, but despite some communication issues, the seven-time world champion is pleased with the starting point.
“I think Riccardo did a really good job. We’re learning about each other, little by little, after this, we download and look into all the comments, what I said, and vice versa. In general, I’m not a person who likes a lot of information in the race. I ask for it unless you need it. He does his best today and we certainly move forward.”