Lewis Hamilton has completed his first official sessions for the Ferrari team. The seven-time world champion recorded the twelfth and fourth fastest times respectively on the first day of training in Australia. In both cases, he could not match his teammate Charles Leclerc. However, team boss Fred Vasseur assured that he is satisfied with Hamilton’s debut – the learning process has only just begun for the 40-year-old Brit.
Hamilton did not perform miracles during the Friday sessions. In the morning, he did not get further than P12, with a deficit of 0.6 seconds on Leclerc, who only had to tolerate Lando Norris and former teammate Carlos Sainz Jr ahead of him. In the afternoon, Hamilton clocked the fourth fastest time in his Ferrari, although Leclerc was the fastest on the field this time. According to Vasseur, it was a fine performance by the former champion, who has only just begun his learning process at Scuderia.
“It is not the intention that he is already at the limit in one session, it is not so much about speed,” Vasseur said during a press conference in Melbourne. “The goal is for him to get to know everyone on the team. He needs to understand our software, our processes, and our system. I am convinced that we do not deviate very much from Mercedes, but in the end we do have a different way of working and different customs. It is simply a learning process for him.”
Just the Beginning
Lewis Hamilton was under contract with Mercedes until December, leaving him relatively little time to prepare for his debut with Ferrari. According to Vasseur, the Scuderia did their best to prepare him for the new season, although he will gain most of his experience during the official sessions with the team. “About a month or two ago, we had a few test days with old cars,” he explained. “That was a good start, but you can’t compare it to a race weekend – now we have to deliver. Fortunately, I’m not worried about this.”
According to Vasseur, the first laps in Melbourne are also not representative. “You can’t draw conclusions after the first sessions,” he stated firmly. “I have no doubt that he will perform quickly. We’ve had two months of marketing,” Vasseur concluded. “That was a huge stunt, but now we’re getting back to business. We have about a hundred and fifty sessions per year, so this is just the beginning.”
