Lewis Hamilton Struggles on Ferrari Debut, Called “Out of His Depth”
Lewis Hamilton’s debut race for Ferrari at the Australian Grand Prix did not go as planned, with former F1 driver Christian Danner claiming the seven-time World Champion looked “completely out of his depth.”
Hamilton made a high-profile switch from Mercedes to Ferrari for the 2025 Formula 1 season. Many fans had been waiting to see him in Ferrari red after he triggered a release clause in his Mercedes contract before the 2024 season began. But his first race for the famous Italian team was disappointing.
At the Melbourne race, Hamilton qualified in eighth place and could only finish tenth. Meanwhile, his Ferrari teammate Charles Leclerc crossed the line in eighth.
Speaking to Motorsport-Magazin.com, Danner did not hold back in his assessment of Hamilton’s performance. “What we saw in Melbourne was shocking,” Danner said. “My impression was that Hamilton was simply completely out of his depth.”
Danner pointed to a key moment late in the race when McLaren driver Oscar Piastri overtook Hamilton on the outside at Turn 11, just before the high-speed chicane. Piastri had been recovering from an earlier spin but managed to get past Hamilton as the rain returned.
“An overtaking move like Piastri’s towards the end of the race – something like that would never have happened to Hamilton in the past,” Danner added. “He let himself be tricked.”
Danner also said that Hamilton now needs to adapt to life at Ferrari. “What we saw in Melbourne confirms what we saw in testing. Hamilton is slower than Leclerc,” he said.
Hamilton and Ferrari will be hoping for a stronger result in the next race as they continue to work on building their partnership.
