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Ferrari made the decision to replace Lewis Hamilton’s race engineer before the start of the 2026 season, and the Australian Grand Prix might have already proved it was the right decision.
Lewis Hamilton is still waiting to score his first Formula 1 podium with Ferrari, but he was closer than ever before to ending that drought.
The seven-time world champion finished less than a second behind teammate Charles Leclerc, with George Russell winning from Andrea Kimi Antonelli to hand Mercedes a well-deserved one-two.
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Ferrari replaced Hamilton’s old race engineer Riccardo Adami during the winter break, although his permanent replacement hasn’t started work yet.
Kimi Raikkonen’s former engineer, Carlo Santi, has taken up the role as Hamilton’s new race engineer waits to begin working with the 41-year-old, but there were signs on the team radio that suggest Ferrari’s call to replace Adami has already been justified.
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Lewis Hamilton’s much clearer radio messages during the Australian Grand Prix
Throughout the race, the communication between Hamilton and Santi was very clear.
During the opening laps, Hamilton said: “I’m using lower gears.” Santi replied: “Yeah, if you want. Deployment is on target, focus on tyre management, particularly C12.”
Later in the race, Hamilton said, “I think I can take turn five flat,” to which Santi replied: “ [Turn] five flat is good for us.”
Hamilton asked later in his first stint: “Let me know which corners I’m losing, mate.”
Santi was immediately on the radio and said: “So, exit of [turn] two, you are losing [time], and entry [of turn] 13, too aggressive. Entry 13, take it easy.”
The seven-time world champion was quick to say during the virtual safety car: “At least one of us should have come in,” but Santi was quick to say on the radio: “So far we are on plan. We are focusing on plan A.”
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Hamilton was tough on Santi when it came to strategy, demanding not to be double-stacked and that his tyres were OK, and his temporary race engineer was quick to take his feedback on board.
On his cooldown lap after taking the chequered flag, Santi said: “Good job in 3-4. And entry speed nine. One tenth. Keep pushing, you never know.”
Santi: “Mega race, very solid, second stint was super fast. Russell P1, Antonelli P2, Charles P3, and we are P4.”
Hamilton: “Great effort, guys, really great job! Gracias, everyone, back at the factory. Solid points for the team, let’s keep pushing.”
Santi: “Thank you, Lewis!”
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Ferrari’s deficit to Mercedes will be Lewis Hamilton’s biggest worry after the Australian Grand Prix
Last season, Ferrari were the fourth-fastest team on the grid, and couldn’t compete with the likes of Mercedes, McLaren or Red Bull at the majority of races.
However, Leclerc and Hamilton were able to push Russell throughout the first stint before their strategies diverged, with the Monegasque driver taking the lead on several occasions.
What will give Hamilton hope is the fact that he and Leclerc stormed to the front of the pack off the grid, although he did benefit from Oscar Piastri’s did-not-start after crashing on his way to the grid, giving him more space to accelerate into.
Russell complained that he and Antonelli had no battery power on the grid, and if that’s an issue that continues going forward, then Ferrari’s first win since Mexico City 2024 might not be far away on a track where overtaking is more difficult.
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