IndyCar's David Malukas baffled by Ferrari's Australian GP disaster and Antonelli's historic F1 debut

IndyCar prodigy David Malukas has reacted to the main headlines from F1's Australian GP on Sunday, namely, Ferrari's unusually bad race and Mercedes rookie Andrea Kimi Antonelli's P4 finish on debut. The race started in wet conditions and ended the same way with a brief dry stint in between, throwing up many variables for the drivers and teams to deal with with Lando Norris emerging victorious.

Ferrari, who has become infamous for unreliable strategic management in the last decade or so, unfortunately lived up to that reputation. Among the many lowlights were Charles Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton having to tell their race engineers to reduce the many interactions on team radio and 'leave them to it'. They finished in P8 and P10, respectively, with Williams and Sauber outperforming them.

Contrastingly, the team that the seven-time champ left to join the Scuderia had a dream first outing. While George Russell held his composure throughout the race to convert his P4 into a P3 podium finish, 18-year-old teammate Andrea Kimi Antonelli went all the way from P16 to finish in P4 right behind Russell - one of the best debuts of all-time.

David Malukas shared an animated post on the social media platform X with a shocked reaction to Ferrari and Antonelli's contrasting fortunes.

"WHAT HAPPENED TO FERRARI??!! Also Antonelli P4, damn 👏 " the AJ Foyt Racing driver wrote.

David Malukas also reacted to the hilarious team radio exchange between Charles Leclerc and his race engineer. The Monegasque complained about excess water on his seat during the race and asked if there was leakage. His engineer replied: "Must be the water."

"Let's add that to the words of wisdom," was the Ferrari golden boy's hilarious reply before continuing to race. Malukas dropped a laughing emoji to a fan sharing a photo of the exchange with him on X.

Will Buxton helps David Malukas get up to speed with the F1 world

Will Buxton with Pierre Gasly and Charles Leclerc at the F1 Grand Prix of Austria - Previews - Source: Getty

Will Buxton, who left F1TV to become an IndyCar play-by-play commentator in the FOX Sports booth, helped David Malukas with his F1-related questions in the lead-up to the Australian GP.

Malukas' first F1 question came on the first day of F1's first race week of 2025. He made an X post asking his followers who he should be rooting for this F1 season. Buxton, who dedicated his entire 23-year career to F1, replied with a smart analogy. He wrote:

"Young guy the paddock is talking very positively about, super talented, loads of potential and rumoured to be in line for a future with the most storied team in the game? Meet your F1 alter ego @OllieBearman"

David Malukas' second question, a doubt, arose on Friday, the first day of the Australian GP weekend. In an X post, he asked:

"Do we pay attention to lap times in FP1/FP2 or only FP3?"

His question most probably arose as a result of an IndyCar rule. In the American racing series, there are usually two practice sessions and the timings in the second session decide the groups for qualifying. F1, however, has no such practice.

Will Buxton came to the rescue again with a simple explanation. He wrote:

"All of them. But also none of them. FP2 tends to give a better race pace indicator but you have to delve into the runs for that because the headline times will be the low fuel quali runs. Seemed to be some struggles on the softer tyre today (hello St Pete). FP3 best Q indicator."

David Malukas had a decent first outing with AJ Foyt Racing at IndyCar's Grand Prix of St. Petersburg on March 2. He started the race in P17 and finished up in P13. He will be in action at the Thermal Club IndyCar Grand Prix next weekend with F1 simultaneously traveling to China.