Fred Vasseur reacts to Lewis Hamilton and his Ferrari race engineer’s communication gap in Australian F1 Grand Prix

Lewis Hamilton's Ferrari debut in the Australian Grand Prix was overshadowed by communication gaps with race engineer, Riccardo Adami. Ferrari team principal Fred Vasseur addressed the situation and took full responsibility, highlighting the need to improve communication.

Hamilton's frustration over the radio began as early as Lap 14, when he was asked to use K1 while close to his rivals. Hamilton preferred to manage it himself. The more notable miscommunication occurred later, on Lap 49, when Hamilton inquired about the rain.

Adami gave an incomplete response about the rain worsening, which led to the seven-time world champion pitting late and losing out on his advantage. Hamilton ultimately finished tenth in his first Ferrari outing. Despite the setback, Vasseur remained positive about the outcome. Here's what he said while speaking to ESPN:

""It was the first race, the first time that we have to communicate between the pit wall and the car, and we can do a better job and know each other more... For sure it was not a clean one at all, the strategy was difficult and we need to find a better way to communicate between the car and the pit wall. We will learn from this one but it's not an issue"

The Ferrari team principal admitted that there were gaps and emphasized the importance of learning from each other. Hamilton joined the 'Prancing Horses' after 12 years in Mercedes and is still getting accustomed to Ferrari. Vasseur added that dialogue between Hamilton and the engineer can prevent similar issues. Hamilton also relayed identical sentiments:

"I have learned a huge amount this weekend, there's a lot to take away from it. I've got some changes I've got to make for next week, and I'll see how it goes," the experienced driver said.

Both of them are now looking forward to the Chinese Grand Prix next Sunday, hoping to implement the lessons that they had learned during the week.

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Ferrari's strategy misstep and the impact on Lewis Hamilton

Lewis Hamilton in the pitlane as Charles Leclerc makes a pitstop during the Australian GP - Source: Getty

Apart from radio miscommunication, rain also played a big part in the season opener at Albert Park, Melbourne. Teams found it hard to adapt to the changing weather and use tires adept for the conditions. Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc were both kept on the track with slick tires as Max Verstappen pitted for intermediate tires on Lap 47.

Rain arrived a lap later, with Hamilton leading and 13 laps remaining. The Briton had to pit on the following lap, losing his lead. Both Leclerc and Hamilton dropped, from first and third to tenth and ninth, respectively.

"It's also because they (McLaren) went out that they pitted two laps before. We made the wrong call because I think the best option was to pit the same lap as Max and we made the wrong call at this stage" said Fred Vasseur.

Fred Vasseur took accountability for the wrong strategy at a crucial moment that led to McLaren's Lando Norris winning the race.