F1 pundit drops 'slightly behind McLaren' verdict for Lewis Hamilton-led Ferrari ahead of first F1 race in Australia

Former F1 driver and pundit Karun Chandhok felt that Lewis Hamilton looked "comfortable" in the Ferrari during the pre-season test in Bahrain, but the team could be 'slightly behind' McLaren for the coming season. The seven-time F1 world champion completed one and a half days of testing at the Sakhir International Circuit last week from February 26 to 28.

The 40-year-old had already done a couple of TPCs in the 2023 and 2024 machinery to get a better understanding of the previous cars. However, the British driver looked steady in the pre-season test and was able to throw the car around on the track and get it to respond to his inputs.

Taking to his Instagram handle on Wednesday, March 5, Karun Chandhok gave his honest opinion of Lewis Hamilton's performance in the test. While highlighting the confidence the seven-time champion had in braking, Chandhok said:

"In the first two days of the test, he looked really comfortable in the car. Looking at some of the telemetry traces, Lewis's strength has always been under braking. He was really able to hammer the brake paddle and get that rotation into the car...Lewis was able to attack the entry on the braking in a way that not always been able to do in recent times. So that was encouraging."

Although Chandhok was up in arms about the Brit driver's progress in adapting to the new car, he did mention that the Italian team could be behind rival McLaren in the pecking order, saying:

"The last day when the temperature came up, it looked more challenging and the car didn't look particularly well balanced. We saw Charles do a race run on the second day, and they were very similar to what we saw from Mercedes. So I think slightly behind McLaren, but Ferrari will be very similar to Mercedes."

The next time Lewis Hamilton will be out and about in the SF-25 will be at the season opener in Melbourne next week.

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Lewis Hamilton previews season opener after pre-season testing

Ferrari driver Lewis Hamilton said he was "excited" to go racing in the SF-25 at the Australian Grand Prix next week for the season opener of the 2025 season. Speaking with Sky Sports at the Puma event in Milan this week, the former Mercedes driver reflected on his test and said:

"I'm really grateful. We had good testing last week. I feel we're as best prepared we could be given the short space of time that I've had. There's still things to learn but I'm just excited to get going. I love racing."

Since its return to the F1 calendar in 2022 after the COVID-19 pandemic, Ferrari have won two of the three Australian GPs and four of the last six overall.

Lewis Hamilton too, has an impressive record at the Albert Park Circuit, as he has clinched eight pole positions and two victories to his name in 2008 and 2015.