Charles Leclerc has revealed that repeat struggles at the track which hosts the Formula 1 Chinese Grand Prix are behind his gap to Ferrari team-mate Lewis Hamilton.

Hamilton was on song in his second race weekend with Ferrari as he edged out Red Bull’s Max Verstappen to collect his maiden pole position with the Italian marque.

However, Leclerc was unable to rival the seven-time F1 champion as he propped up over two-tenths adrift in fourth place, behind Oscar Piastri in the leading McLaren.

Leclerc had trailed Hamilton in the standalone practice hour and that pattern was maintained across all three segments in the session that determines the Sprint grid.

The Monegasque explained how trouble getting the car rotated through the opening complex of corners was a limiting factor that also hampered him 12 months ago.

“I’ve struggled on my side of the garage,” Leclerc admitted. “From the beginning, I felt like I was a step back compared to Lewis and Lewis was faster today.

“Struggled a lot in Turns 1, 2, 3 which is more or less the same struggle that I had last year which is a bit of a shame.

“But apart from that everything was quite tight, so it’s a shame we start P4. But Lewis on pole, and hopefully we can have a good race tomorrow.”

Leclerc lacking confidence in Ferrari’s SF-25

Leclerc admitted he had more trust to explore the SF-25’s limits compared to the preceding practice session, but not enough to replicate the time Hamilton produced.

Asked how challenging FP1 was with the track conditions, Leclerc responded: “Very difficult. We really struggled to put everything in the right window.

“At the end of the day, it felt a little bit better in qualifying, but not where I wanted it to be.

“So still some work to be done for qualifying tomorrow. However, the race is another story and this we will only see tomorrow.”

Leclerc highlights decisive element to China Sprint

Leclerc suspects the high demand that is placed on the tyres at the Shanghai International Circuit will play a dominant role in the outcome of the 19-lap Sprint race.

“First we have a Sprint race which I think will be tricky around here with the tyres and we have to focus on that, then we’ll see about qualifying later on,” he added.

READ MORE – Lewis Hamilton: Ferrari car ‘came alive’ for ‘shock’ F1 Chinese GP Sprint pole

The post Charles Leclerc reveals the repeat China struggles behind Lewis Hamilton deficit appeared first on Motorsport Week.

Lewis Hamilton set a new lap record at the Shanghai International Circuit as he claimed Sprint Race pole position for Ferrari.

Hamilton moved to the front with a time of 1:30.849s during an enthralling SQ3 session in China, beating reigning champion Max Verstappen by just 0.018s.

READ MORE – Lewis Hamilton ready to ‘rebuild’ Ferrari amid F1 title vow

McLaren, favourites heading into the session, wound up with Oscar Piastri third and Lando Norris sixth, as neither improved on their first laps.

Norris had errors on both of his push laps in SQ3 as he bid for back-to-back Sprint poles at the venue faltered.

Charles Leclerc was fourth for Ferrari, with George Russell in fifth spot, and his Mercedes team-mate Kimi Antonelli seventh.

Yuki Tsunoda was eighth for Racing Bulls, ahead of Williams’ Alex Albon and Aston Martin’s Lance Stroll.

Fernando Alonso missed out on a spot in SQ3 by two-thousandths of a second and will start from 11^th, while Oliver Bearman gave Haas reason for encouragement after a difficult start to the campaign by taking 12^th place.

Carlos Sainz was unable to match the pace of team-mate Alex Albon and finished 13^th, while Gabriel Bortoleto was again the faster Sauber driver across a single lap and took 14^th spot.

Isack Hadjar finished 15^th after an error through Turn 1 on his SQ2 lap proved terminal to his prospects of advancing.

Alpine suffered a double elimination from SQ1 as neither Jack Doohan nor Pierre Gasly were able to escape the 12-minute session.

Esteban Ocon was 18^th for Haas, ahead of Sauber’s Nico Hulkenberg, while Liam Lawson had another dismal outing for Red Bull Racing.

Lawson struggled to get the Medium tyres working and an error through Turn 9 compounded his woes as he finished last of the 20 drivers.

READ MORE – F1 2025 Chinese Grand Prix – Sprint Qualifying Results

The post Lewis Hamilton grabs Chinese GP Sprint Race pole appeared first on Motorsport Week.

Lewis Hamilton labelled the radio exchanges Max Verstappen has “far worse” than the communication troubles he had with Ferrari in the  Formula 1 Australian Grand Prix.

Hamilton and Adami, who worked with Sebastian Vettel and Carlos Sainz previously, had a baptism of fire at the Albert Park Circuit last weekend.

Adami, keen to guide Hamilton through the mixed conditions on his Ferrari bow, was consistent in his delivery of information, only for the driver to ask for less interaction.

The awkward discussion highlighted the work the two have to be on the same page, but Hamilton insisted post-race that there wasn’t a deep-rooted problem emerging.

Instead, the Briton feels the coverage of the interactions was overblown and drew a comparison to his ex-F1 title rival Verstappen’s fiery chats with Gianpiero Lambiasse.

“I was very polite in how I had suggested it,” Hamilton said via Sky. “I said: ‘leave it to me, please’.

“I wasn’t saying ‘F you’. I wasn’t swearing. So it was just at that point, I was really struggling with the car and I needed full focus on these couple of things.

“We’re getting to know each other. He’s obviously had two champions or more in the past and there’s no issues between us still.”

He added: “Go and listen to the radio calls with others and their engineers, far worse.

“But unfortunately, you [the media] make… the conversation that Max has with an engineer over the years, the abuse that the poor guy’s taken and you never write about it, but you wrote about the smallest little discussion I had with mine.”

Hamilton highlights Verstappen-Lambiase exchanges

It’s actually well-documented that Verstappen and Lambiasse are fiery over team radio, but it has proved to be a winning duo and a routine the duo has settled into.

It’s a chalk-and-cheese combination for sure, but speaks to the fact both men are comfortable with one another after years of collaboration.

Hamilton and Adami are just one race into their working relationship, so naturally, things will take time to gel, leaving him still surprised about the attention it garnered.

“I don’t know why everyone’s been so negative about it,” he said. 

“I was polite. I always said ‘please’ at the end.

“When you look at some of the other drivers who have been super vocal, almost abusive, their engineers have taken batterings for years, and mine didn’t even take a battering.

“There are a couple of individuals that were quite rude on how we spoke. 

“It’s something you learn along the way. From race to race, we’re going to get stronger together, and that’s the most important part.”

Hamilton went on to say how he and Adami are cordially building up a rapport.

“Ultimately, we’re literally just getting to know each other,” he said.

“So afterwards I’m like: ‘hey bro, I don’t need that bit of information but if you want to give me this, this is the place I’d like to do it’. 

“This is how I’m feeling in the car and, at these points, this is when I do and don’t need the information’.

“That’s what it’s about. There are no issues, it’s done with a smiley face and we move forwards.”

Hamilton to change Ferrari approach in China

Radio communication wasn’t the only thing Hamilton is acclimating to as he learned the ropes of working with his wider Ferrari team and the SF-25 machine itself.

After an uninspiring run to 10th in his Ferrari debut, the seven-time champion revealed he will be trying a different approach at the Shanghai International Circuit.

“We’re just going to set the car up a bit different this weekend,” he said. 

“I’m still having to take a viewing seat how the team operates. 

“It was the first weekend to see how they operate on the race weekend, which is different to testing, how they like to set the car up, the changes they like to make during the weekends.

“As I get more and more comfortable and more knowledgeable about the car, I can start making more decisions, and say, ‘actually, this is the set-up change I want to go with’.

“Already this weekend I’m having those discussions, and gonna lean a little bit more with adding my experience.”

READ MORE – Lewis Hamilton ready to ‘rebuild’ Ferrari amid F1 title vow

The post Lewis Hamilton: Max Verstappen radio ‘far worse’ than Ferrari exchanges appeared first on Motorsport Week.

Isack Hadjar revealed that Lewis Hamilton sent him a message of support following the Formula 1 Australian Grand Prix and downplayed Helmut Marko’s criticisms.

After a solid start to his maiden GP weekend, Hadjar lined up 11th on the grid at the Albert Park Circuit for Racing Bulls only for his good work to be undone at Turn 2 on the formation lap.

Misreading the conditions, Hadjar lost control of his VCARB 02 and ended up in the wall.

Distraught and tearful, Hadjar retreated to the paddock and Marko, the man largely responsible for guiding the Red Bull junior graduate into F1, told television broadcaster ORF, “That was a bit embarrassing.”

Hadjar revealed he and Marko are on good terms, however, citing the Austrian’s remarks was likely lost in translation.

“I found [the incident] embarrassing myself,” Hadjar said candidly on Thursday. 

“Helmut, I had him on the phone a day later, and it’s all good. I’ve known him for a few years now. I know how he works. 

“Also, another point, I think he said that he was speaking German, he was reinterpreted differently. 

“I didn’t know about the body language. I didn’t see the footage, so I can’t say much. But apart from that, I see all the love from the fans and the people. I did not expect that at all when I binned it in the wall, so that was nice.”

Hamiltons show support to Hadjar

Hadjar was embraced by Anthony Hamilton on his way back to the paddock in Melbourne last weekend, who said to Sky Sports “I just felt terrible for him, so I thought ‘you know what, I need to go and tell this kid keep your head high, walk tall, you’re gonna come back’.”

Hadjar sees Hamilton as his idol and to receive support from the seven-time champion’s father was “special.”

Not only that, but the Ferrari driver himself reached out to the young rookie.

“[My moment] reminded me of Lewis actually parking the car at the pit entry in Shanghai,” Hadjar said. 

“It was a nice moment sharing time with someone like Anthony, obviously the dad of my idol, so it was quite a special moment and indeed, Lewis sent me a message later that day. 

“Really classy guys.”

Hadjar dusting himself off for fresh Shanghai challenge

Despite the setback in Australia, Hadjar has quickly dusted himself off, thankful for an opportunity to make amends so soon in Shanghai.

“I would say on Monday already I felt quite a lot better, especially knowing that it’s a back-to-back weekend,” he revealed.

“I’ve got to run it back quite early, not having a month to dwell on it.”

Moreover, Hadjar was able to take several positives from his first weekend as a full-time F1 driver.

“I would say that we were surprisingly faster than we thought,” he said.

“Looking at Bahrain, it’s hard to really understand where you’re at in the midfield. You don’t know how much everyone is hiding or not. 

“Going into Melbourne, the car was really good. Straight from FP1, I had a really nice feeling with the car. I was quite comfortable. 

“I was as close to Yuki [Tsunoda] as I wanted to be. I think there was a lot of positives in terms of pure performance.”

With that, Hadjar has demonstrated the mental resilience to give himself a strong foundation heading into the Chinese GP.

READ MORE – Helmut Marko brands Isack Hadjar’s tearful Australian GP exit ‘embarrassing’

The post Isack Hadjar reveals Lewis Hamilton support amid Helmut Marko criticism appeared first on Motorsport Week.

Anthony Hamilton vowed that he and his son Lewis are ready to “rebuild” Ferrari into a title-winning team following the Formula 1 Australian Grand Prix.

A tricky adaptation to Ferrari in mixed conditions at the Albert Park Circuit, coupled with strategy miscues resigned Hamilton to a lowly 10th-place finish on his debut with the Scuderia.

Despite the underwhelming result, Hamilton’s father was in a punchy mood in conversation with broadcasters after the chequered flag, making a vow to Ferrari’s loyal Tifosi.

“As far as we’re concerned, we’re fighters, just like Ferrari, which is a world champion team,” Hamilton Sr told Canal+ post-race. 

“We’re going to rebuild this team, not just for us and for Ferrari, but for Italy and all the fans.”

Ferrari has gone without a Constructors’ title since 2008 with its last Drivers’ Championship success coming a year earlier with Kimi Raikkonen.

While the Hamilton/Ferrari debut didn’t go as planned, the seven-time world champion’s father added to Sky Sports F1 “We’re just really pleased we got this race over and done with and we finished it. That was the most important thing.

“With so few laps and time in the car it was always going to be difficult but we’re quite pleased.

“It’s been a learning process, we learnt a lot about the car, what we need to do, what we need to change and where need to go with it.

“It would have been great to come here, been on the pace and been up the front, but that might have been too easy.

“We like things difficult so we’re going to work hard.”

Hamiltons happy with gap to Charles Leclerc

Hamilton Sr. also touched on the importance of Charles Leclerc, predicting harmony between the new Ferrari teammates moving forward.

“Charles is a phenomenal drier and individual and I think as team-mates they’re going to work extremely well together and we are going to bring this team back to a world championship,” he said.

Hamilton was two-tenths shy of Leclerc in qualifying but wasn’t disheartened by that gap considering his acclimation has been taking longer than expected.

“We’re just improving every single lap, session on session,” Hamilton told media including Motorsport Week on Saturday.

“Big learning curve this weekend. The car was so much different from the moment I left the pit lane. 

“Just feeling so much different than I’ve ever experienced here. It’s been a lot slower process for me to really build confidence in the car. 

“If you look at the high speed everywhere, I’ve been down all weekend. Charles just had it from the get go. From the minute he went out, he knew what the car does. 

“For me, I was just building up to that through the weekend. I think I got a lot closer towards it to be that close to Charles in my first qualifying session in the car against a great qualifier.”

READ MORE – Lewis Hamilton ‘grateful’ to keep Ferrari out of the wall in treacherous Australian GP

The post Lewis Hamilton ready to ‘rebuild’ Ferrari amid F1 title vow appeared first on Motorsport Week.

Mercedes boss Toto Wolff found himself tracking the progress of Lewis Hamilton during the Formula 1 Australian Grand Prix despite his departure to Ferrari.

After 12 seasons helped forge a record-breaking partnership, Mercedes and Hamilton have now contested a GP as opponents for the first time since 2012 as the seven-time champion made his bow with Ferrari.

For Wolff and Hamilton, it was a genuine first, with both men joining the Silver Arrows in 2013.

Wolff admitted post-race at the Albert Park Circuit that he felt as if had “three drivers” competing in Melbourne as his eye kept wandering to his former charge on the timing screens.

“When I was looking at the screens at times, the way I looked at it is like we had three drivers, because I was looking at RUS, I was looking at ANT, and I was looking at HAM,” he said.

“Then, you realise that HAM is actually with Ferrari and is not with us anymore.”

Such is the bond Hamilton formed at Mercedes, Wolff revealed that the Brackley-based team is still rooting for the seven-time champion, even if he’s at rivals Ferrari.

“He was such a long time [he was with us], it’s logical that you can’t say, ‘He’s gone and you don’t care anymore,’” he said. 

“We very much care about how he is doing, but obviously, on the track, he is the competition, and we have to beat the competition.”

Hamilton supporting Mercedes replacement Antonelli

Hamilton’s replacement is none other than 18-year-old Andrea Kimi Antonelli.

A star of the future, the teenager was impressive in Australia, finishing in fourth after starting 16th. 

Hamilton was seen at Antonelli’s side throughout the Australian GP weekend.

First, the seven-time champion heaped praise on his Mercedes replacement during Thursday’s press conference. 

“Just looking at this youngster here, I’m happy for him, you know, he’s doing so well and conducting himself so well,” Hamilton said. 

“Taking that first leap, getting that first opportunity to be in Formula 1, it’s so, so special. 

“I know how many years of dedication it would have taken for him. Starting even younger than I did. It’s just exciting to see.

Hamilton later accompanied the Italian teenager during Sunday’s driver parade and the duo were seen exchanging words in the build-up to the GP.

Acknowledging Hamilton’s support, Antonelli said: “It shows how great he is, not only as a driver, but also as a person.

“Because he’s always there supportive.”

READ MORE – Mercedes boss Toto Wolff keen to thwart ‘iconic’ Lewis Hamilton at Ferrari

The post Why Toto Wolff was tracking Lewis Hamilton’s Ferrari progress in Australia appeared first on Motorsport Week.

Ferrari boss Frederic Vasseur downplayed the team’s strategic miscall amid a difficult debut for Lewis Hamilton in red at the Formula 1 Australian Grand Prix.

Both Hamilton and team-mate Charles Leclerc struggled in the mixed conditions at Albert Park, the former more so as he claimed on Saturday he didn’t even know the wet settings for his Ferrari SF-25.

Hamilton recounted post-race that he was “grateful” to even keep his Ferrari out of the wall during a 57-lap chaos-fuelled Melbourne melee that saw him lead at one stage with Leclerc also surging into the top three.

That was due to Ferrari staying out longer than its rivals when rain fell on Lap 44 and prolonging a switch to Inters for several laps proved ultimately costly as Hamilton and Leclerc emerged in ninth and 10th.

By the time the chequered flag fell, Leclerc recovered to eighth while Hamilton came home with a solitary point but Vasseur wasn’t too downbeat with the strategy misfire.

“It was a strange situation because Sector 1 and 2 were still dry and Sector 3 was wet,” Vasseur told select media including Motorsport Week post-race.

“It was a kind of bet…we bet on the fact we have to stay on track and wait for the last part of the race with slicks. 

“When Mercedes and McLaren pitted two laps before, we went at the wrong time, the best option was to pit on the same lap as Max [Verstappen] and we made the wrong call.”

Vasseur unfazed by Hamilton radio exchanges

Hamilton was also concerned over team radio that Ferrari misjudged the severity of the incoming rain with its forecast, which Vasseur was also asked to address.

“But this is very difficult…we don’t have a sense of the rain, it is more of a feeling and what we can see on the screen and have on the radar from corner to corner,” he said. 

“We were all surprised about the quantity of rain at this stage of the race, McLaren first, to stay on track with the slicks and just survive at the end it is easy to say it was the wrong call.”

Another curious exchange throughout the race was the communication between Hamilton and his new Race Engineer Riccardo Adami.

Adami, keen to help Hamilton along, delivered consistent information over the Team Radio only for Hamilton to ask to be left to his own devices.

Hamilton praised Adami post-race, citing the learning process the duo is on, and Vasseur acknowledged this process is in its infancy.

“It was the first race, the first time that we have to communicate between the pitwall and the car,” he said. 

“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 pitwall but we will learn from race one and it is not an issue.”

READ MORE – Lewis Hamilton ‘grateful’ to keep Ferrari out of the wall in treacherous Australian GP

The post Ferrari downplays Australia strategy errors amid difficult Lewis Hamilton debut appeared first on Motorsport Week.

Lewis Hamilton was just glad to keep his Ferrari on the track in tricky conditions, despite finishing in a lowly 10th place at the 2025 Formula 1 Australian Grand Prix.

In a chaotic race, Hamilton scored just a single point after the Italian squad made the wrong call during the wet-weather conditions.

The British driver mentioned on Saturday that he did not know the wet settings of his SF-25 car.

So for the majority of the Grand Prix, Hamilton trailed behind the Williams of Alex Albon as he told his new race engineer Riccardo Adami to leave him to his own devices.

A Safety Car, brought out by Fernando Alonso’s crash in the Aston Martin car, allowed most of the drivers to switch onto the dry tyres with the rain easing.

However, a heavy rain shower soon hit the circuit, and Ferrari opted to keep both cars out on track as Hamilton inherited the race lead with the leaders pitting back onto the intermediate tyres.

It turned out to be the wrong decision, as Hamilton slipped back down the order after pitting back onto the wet-weather tyres during another Safety Car.

Unable to make any further progress, his team-mate Charles Leclerc passed him as well as the recovering McLaren of Oscar Piastri, who lost second place after an off-moment at Turn 13 earlier on.

Reflecting on his Ferrari debut afterwards, however, the 40-year-old was content enough that he managed to finish the race unscathed.

“Yeah, definitely a big crash course today,” he told media including Motorsport Week.

“I’m just grateful I kept it out of the wall.”

“I’m grateful I got through it, came out of it with a little bit of something, at least one point.

“Obviously I didn’t go off or spin today.

“Lacking pace, for sure, but I do believe the car has more performance than we were able to extract this weekend, and it was even less performance, for example, in the race.

“But I think it’s just settings.”

Hamilton: ‘I was in the deep, deep end today’

Getting to grips with his new car was always going to be a difficult challenge for the seven-time World Champion.

Add to that the precarious wet-weather conditions around Albert Park, Hamilton was certainly grateful just to finish the race.

But the former Mercedes driver admitted afterwards that he was still struggling with being outside of his comfort zone.

“Sometimes it’s ok, but today it felt like I was in the deep, deep end today,” he said.

“Just everything is new, from the first time I’m driving this car in the rain, the car was behaving a lot different to what I’ve experienced in the past.

“The power unit, all the steering functions, all the things that are thrown to you, you’re trying to juggle all these new things.”

Hamilton also spoke about the call from the pit wall, which ended up costing the Ferrari driver a chance at a strong points finish in his maiden race for the Scuderia.

He added: “Unfortunately, at the end they said it was just a short shower, so I was like, I’m going to hold it out, and the rest of the track was dry, so I was like, I’m going to stick it out as long as I can and keep it on the track.

“They didn’t say more was coming, and all of a sudden, more came.

“So I think it was just lacking that bit of information at the end, but I didn’t have any confidence today in it, unfortunately.

“I’m going to make some changes next week to the car, to the setup.”

READ MORE: Lewis Hamilton explains qualifying deficit to Charles Leclerc amid Ferrari setback

The post Lewis Hamilton ‘grateful’ to keep Ferrari out of the wall in treacherous Australian GP appeared first on Motorsport Week.

Lewis Hamilton explained his deficit to Charles Leclerc in qualifying for the Formula 1 Australian Grand Prix arose from him being further behind adapting to his Ferrari than he first thought.

It’s an entirely new experience for Hamilton at the Albert Park circuit this weekend, his first GP as a Ferrari driver.

Throughout the weekend Hamilton has been positive but acknowledged he’s got a lot to learn acclimating to a completely new feeling with the SF-25 compared to his past 12 seasons with Mercedes.

Ultimately, Saturday was a setback for Ferrari as Leclerc and Hamilton finished seventh and eighth respectively in qualifying.

A spin in the Q3 top-10 shootout exemplified that Hamilton has plenty of work to do getting to grips with his SF-25, but he was happy to get within almost two tenths of Leclerc, given his vast experience at Ferrari.

READ MORE – Charles Leclerc not threatened by Lewis Hamilton presence at Ferrari

“We’re just improving every single lap, session on session,” Hamilton told media including Motorsport Week on Saturday.

“Big learning curve this weekend. The car was so much different from the moment I left the pit lane. 

“Just feeling so much different than I’ve ever experienced here. It’s been a lot slower process for me to really build confidence in the car. 

“If you look at the high speed everywhere, I’ve been down all weekend. Charles just had it from the get go. From the minute he went out, he knew what the car does. 

“For me, I was just building up to that through the weekend. I think I got a lot closer towards it to be that close to Charles in my first qualifying session in the car against a great qualifier.”

Ferrari is completely different to Hamilton’s previous F1 machines

Asked to explain what’s different about his new Ferrari, Hamilton reeled off several items.

“From braking, through corner balance, it’s a lot different to what I had,” he began. 

“The mechanical balance shift that you have is much, much different to what I had in the previous car. 

“The high speed balance, the low speed balance is quite a shift. She behaves a little bit differently,” he said.

Hamilton given Melbourne reality check

Asked how long it will take him to get on track with his Ferrari, Hamilton admitted that he figured heading into Melbourne that he was further along in his acclimation.

Instead, Melbourne has served as a reality check.

“Honestly, I thought I was further along than I was and then I got here,” he said.

“FP1, I was like, jeez, ‘I’ve still got a way to go’. 

“There’s still a tonne of tools that are popping out like, ‘hey, what about this? I’ve never tried that. What does it do?’ 

“It’s one thing saying it, but actually going out and feeling it. 

“I think we did some good work with trying to move the car forward,” Hamilton added. 

“As I said, when you have a problem in the car and you come in, normally when you’ve got the experience you can say, ‘this is where I want to go with it, but I don’t know which tool to use at the moment.’ 

“I’m heavily reliant for the first time on my engineers. 

“They’ve done a great job, but in the past I would say, ‘this is what I want, that setting, this setting,’ and I can’t do that anymore.”

READ MORE – Lewis Hamilton relishing profoundly new F1 Australian GP experience with Ferrari

The post Lewis Hamilton explains qualifying deficit to Charles Leclerc amid Ferrari setback appeared first on Motorsport Week.

McLaren racing driver Lando Norris believes Lewis Hamilton will struggle to adapt in the early stages of his Ferrari career in the 2025 Formula 1 season.

The seven-time World Champion moves to the Scuderia for 2025 after 12 seasons with Mercedes.

Hamilton finished 12th in the opening Free Practice session at the Australian Grand Prix.

The British driver was off the pace as he contended with getting to grips with his new car for this season.

Meanwhile, Norris topped the timing sheets in the first session at Albert Park, showcasing McLaren’s competitiveness from last season.

The 25-year-old was pipped by the other Ferrari of Charles Leclerc in the second practice session, as Hamilton improved up into fifth place.

When discussing this year’s title fight, Norris explained how he feels it will take time for Hamilton to adjust at Ferrari before he gets going.

“I don’t think I’m just going to be racing against Max this year,” he told select media including Motorsport Week.

“I think it’s going to be Charles and Lewis, it’s going to be Oscar [Piastri].

“It’s going to be both Red Bull drivers and Mercedes drivers too.

“So I look forward to all of the battles, and of course, the more wars that can be on track between others, the better for us.

“But I don’t expect that to happen too much, I think Lewis will still take a little time to settle in.

“That doesn’t mean he won’t be quick from the beginning, but there’s always things in the first few races.

“Especially when you change team and you’ve been with one team for such a long time, it takes a bit of time to get going.

“But I’m sure Lewis knows what those things are, and he’ll iron them out as quickly as he can.”

Norris ready to take another crack at battling Verstappen in 2025

Norris, a four-time race winner last season, was unable to dethrone Max Verstappen in 2024, as the Dutchman sealed the title at the Las Vegas Grand Prix.

Colliding on several occasions, Verstappen got the best of his frenemy in the wheel-to-wheel battles.

However, Norris says he has learnt a lot from last year as to where he stands in comparison to the Red Bull driver.

“I learned a lot of things last year; I think I learned two big things,” he added.

“One was, I clearly wasn’t quite ready to deliver on everything that I needed to deliver on, from a racing point of view, and that’s just because racing against Max is a unique situation.

“You don’t get to experience it in any other way of life until you really get to that point.

“I think had it been a battle against different drivers, I don’t know if it would have been the same.

“It probably wouldn’t have been as hard, and I think that’s probably a fair assessment because I do think Max will be the hardest guy to race against.

“He’s always going to be the one who’s going to be most willing to push the limits and push the boundaries like he did.

“So I learned that aspect of Max, and I also learned where I stood in that situation, which was not at the right level.

“I learned from those things, and I think already in the last couple of races, I improved on a lot of those situations.

“But every situation is different in Formula 1 – so even if some of them happen again, it’s not always a guarantee I’ll make the right decision and Max will make the right decision, or any other driver will make the right decision.

“So it’s a tough one because you don’t make those decisions now.

“You have to make them on track half a second before it happens, and you don’t have a lot of time to think about the whole situation.

“So I’m just excited to have another crack at it and see what I can do and go up against any driver.”

READ MORE: Ferrari unconcerned by sluggish Lewis Hamilton start to F1 Australian GP weekend

The post Lando Norris predicts slow start for Lewis Hamilton at Ferrari appeared first on Motorsport Week.