"Yeah it wasnt great": Lewis Hamilton reacts to Ferrari's strategic gamble hurting his F1 Australian GP

Lewis Hamilton started eighth on his debut for Ferrari and led the Australian Grand Prix at one point during the race. However, his race soon unraveled as the strategic gamble taken by the Scuderia did not pay off, and the seven-time champion finished P10. He admitted during the post-race chatter with his race engineer that the race wasn't great.

The paddock's attention had been centered around Hamilton's move to Ferrari for the past year, and the Australian Grand Prix was the scene of action where the two came together for his racing debut. The 40-year-old started on the fourth row but was stuck behind Williams' Alex Albon for the majority of the race.

To change the fortune of the scarlet duo, the Maranello-based squad took up a gamble and left their drivers out on slick tires during a period of moderate rain over the track. However, the rain intensified, and the pair eventually had to jump back into the pits for a set of green-walled tires.

This made Lewis Hamilton's day go from bad to worse as he emerged out of the pits in the lower fringes of the points. Despite getting past Pierre Gasly after the Frenchman made a mistake, he was overtaken by Oscar Piastri on the final lap for ninth place.

The Briton then finished tenth when the chequered flag fell on the track, bagging in a solitary point on his maiden race with the Scuderia. Disappointed with his outing in Melbourne, Hamilton shared a rejecting radio message post-race:

"Yeah it wasn't great, but we keep pushing."

The Italian powerhouse is off to a rough start with the Australian Grand Prix results.

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How did Charles Leclerc's race pan out in comparison to Lewis Hamilton?

Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc in the Ferrari pitbox during the F1 Grand Prix Of Australia - Source: Getty

Lewis Hamilton was not the only one who suffered a dismal race; his Scuderia teammate, Charles Leclerc, was also on the same ship. The Monegasque started the race in seventh, alongside the Briton but made overtakes on the opening lap to get into P5.

Regardless of his early efforts, his work came undone during the strategy gamble, and the 27-year-old finished in eighth after the 57 laps were done. Unhappy with his result, Leclerc shared his discontent over the radio, saying:

"F**k."

Lando Norris won the Australian Grand Prix. The McLaren driver started on pole and raced pretty much in control. Meanwhile, Max Verstappen finished as runner-up.

It marks the first time since the 2022 Spanish Grand Prix that the Dutchman is no longer at the head of the table, ending a 1029 days streak.