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Does Hamilton eye a victory in the rain on his Ferrari debut?
Qualifying was not the smoothest for Ferrari on the Saturday in Melbourne. Lewis Hamilton finished right behind Charles Leclerc in P8. However, as he is set for his first ever Grand Prix for the Scuderia, the Briton hopes to achieve something special.
Winning from eighth place in Melbourne is not the easiest of task, however, conditions could play in Hamilton's favour.. "I mean there's always that you hold on to that hope and you hope so for sure."
However, he also underlined he never have driven the car in these conditions before. "I think getting the tyres working today and as I said I've got the four laps or three laps of the grid for my first time in the rain with this car to really feel and hopefully see if I can get on top of it as early as possible. But I'm sure through the race it's going to progress more and more. We haven't had a race here in the rain for a long time as well, so it's going to be challenging for everyone. But it should be fun," the Briton predicted.
Hamilton ready for debut
After the blockbuster transfer, Hamilton is set to compete for a different team for the first time in more than a decade. "It's been incredible, this first few months and then to be here and to see the crowd here. Yes, it's been really enjoyable. I mean, the weather's been crazy. It's been so warm and beautiful weather for the whole week and then today woke up and just great, like England weather but a little bit warmer," he said about his experience so far.
To this day, the seven-time world champion is astonished by such a change. "No I didn't feel nervous. I woke up quite early. I can't sleep too long. I woke up early and I looked across the city, and such a pretty city, this one, Melbourne," he said about what he did in the morning.
While Hamilton is not nervous as he said, it is still very all very new. "And I was just like contemplating, like I was messaging with my brother, I was messaging with my family, my mom. It's just very surreal for us, and we're incredibly grateful for this opportunity, Even in the garage yesterday, my dad's like, ‘wow, we're in Ferrari’. We just have to keep reminding ourselves. Not that you don't get reminded because it's red everywhere, but it is phenomenal to be here and have this different experience, which, as I said, I'm really grateful for."
He also explained what he believes he can learn these next few hours with his new squad. "Today is a new experience again. Everything's a first, at the moment, time for me. I'm hoping today, I've never driven a car in the rain, so understanding the settings, the communication with the team, the strategy that they run is different. So I will be learning on the fly, but I hope it can be a good day."
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