Ferrari makes honest confession as Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc left exposed by strategic gambles in Australia

Ferrari boss Fred Vasseur feels that there needs to be a better way to communicate with drivers, as Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc ended up getting massively compromised by the team's strategic gambles in Australia. The F1 season kicked off in Melbourne with what was a treacherous race.

The race started under wet conditions and then dried out for a bit before raining again. The conditions were quite challenging from start to finish. Things did, however, get worse for Ferrari and Lewis Hamilton because, throughout the race, the level of confusion and conversation between the two was not ideal.

Early in the race, Lewis Hamilton's engineer, Riccardo Adami, came on the team radio multiple times to inform the driver about using "K1". The 7x champion sounded agitated during the back and forth, but the worst was yet to come when rain hit the track later in the race.

With the team taking the call to keep both drivers out as the track got wet, Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc were brutally exposed as the drivers just couldn't do much on slick tires on a wet track. Overall, after opting for a late stop, the two drivers finished the race in P8 and P10.

Talking to the media, including Motorsport magazine, Fred Vasseur admitted that the team needs to take a look at how the communication could be better between the driver and the team during a race. He said,

“We need to find a better way to communicate between the car and the pitwall. But we will learn from this one, and it’s not an issue.”

Lewis Hamilton backed his race engineer in the media after a few cagey exchanges during the race and felt that it would take some time before the race engineer and the driver would have a better working relationship. He said,

“I think Riccardo did a really good job. I think we’re learning about each other, bit by bit, after this, we’ll download, we’ll go through all the comments, things I said, and vice versa. And generally, I’m not one that likes a lot of information in the race, unless I need it, or I’ve asked for it. But he did his best today, and we’ll move forwards.”

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Lewis Hamilton on the challenges of adapting to Ferrari

Lewis Hamilton's move to Ferrari has come with a lot of challenges. Most of all is the fact that the driver has never driven an engine other than Mercedes. He's also switching teams after 12 years which means acclimatisation is important as well. Talking to the media, the driver detailed the challenges that he faces as he said,

“I’m still learning this new car that’s quite a lot different from what I’ve driven my whole career. In the sense of the Mercedes power coming to the Ferrari power, it’s something quite new – different vibration, different feel, different way of working. The whole team works completely differently. I was just sitting looking at last year’s race traces, and it’s upside down compared to the previous ones, what I’ve been used to. I don’t understand it all.”

The first race weekend of the season ended with Hamilton in P10. The driver would be hoping for a better run in Shanghai, a track he's been brilliant at throughout his career.