There’s nothing like racing agony, the reality of a new dawn compared to the high-octane hullaballoo, to wipe out a two-month period of euphoric bliss. Lewis Hamilton arrived in Melbourne visibly joyous ahead of the opening chapter of his Ferrari story. Three days on, F1’s joint-most successful driver will now be under no illusions regarding the scale of the voyage ahead.
And it wasn’t just Ferrari’s late fumble – for both drivers, we should add, with Charles Leclerc also impacted – which will eat away at Hamilton on his flight to Shanghai this week for next weekend’s Chinese GP. Nor will it be the last-lap concession to Oscar Piastri, resorting Hamilton to a 10th-place finish and just one point in the Albert Park rain on Sunday.
