Ferrari team principal Fred Vasseur has promised Lewis Hamilton immediate improvements in communication following mistakes during the Australian Grand Prix.
The race at Melbourne’s Albert Park tested the relationship between Hamilton and race engineer Riccardo Adami.
Problematic radio exchanges and strategy calls, particularly during rainfall, highlighted issues that need addressing.
Vasseur acknowledged these problems must be fixed before the upcoming Chinese Grand Prix this weekend.
Lewis Hamilton endured a nightmare Ferrari debut at the Australian Grand Prix following his move from Mercedes
REUTERS
Hamilton and Adami faced a challenging first race together following the seven-time champion’s move to Ferrari.
The British driver had already indicated that adapting to a completely different car was proving difficult.
Learning Ferrari’s procedures and various idiosyncrasies compared to his many years at Mercedes presented a steep learning curve.
Limited running time before the Melbourne race compounded these challenges, while the wet conditions during the Grand Prix further tested their communication.
Ferrari team principal Fred Vasseur has promised Lewis Hamilton immediate improvements in communication following mistakes during the Australian Grand Prix
REUTERS
The fraught exchanges between Hamilton and Adami were evident throughout the race, which saw six crashes further complicating matters.
Hamilton eventually finished 10th in a race that Vasseur described as “not a clean one at all”.
“Probably we need to find a better way to communicate between the car and the pit wall,” Vasseur said, per RacingNews365.
“We will learn from this one but it’s not an issue.”
Despite acknowledging communication issues, Vasseur remained optimistic about Hamilton’s adaptation to Ferrari.
“It’s the first race, the first time we have to communicate between the pit wall and the car,” said Vasseur.
“We can do a better job, to know each other a bit better.
“It’s only in these kinds of situations that we can learn and be much better next week.”
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One particular communication breakdown occurred when heavy rain hit the track late in the race.
While other drivers quickly pitted for intermediate tyres, Hamilton and teammate Charles Leclerc were instructed to stay out.
Leclerc was told “class three” heavy rain was imminent, but Hamilton later complained via radio: “You said it wasn’t going to rain much. Missed a big opportunity there.”
Vasseur admitted Ferrari made strategic errors during the rainfall.
Lewis Hamilton could only finish 10th at the Australian Grand Prix
REUTERS
“It was a strange situation because sectors one and two were still dry and sector three was completely wet,” he explained.
Ferrari and Red Bull gambled on keeping drivers out while Mercedes and McLaren pitted earlier.
“We made the wrong call because I think the best option was to pit the same lap as Max,” Vasseur conceded.