Lewis Hamilton reflected on his first F1 2025 sessions at the wheel of the Ferrari SF-25, a machine unlike anything else he has experienced.

And, while the “the car doesn’t feel bad”, Hamilton admitted that it will require him to change his “driving style” after finishing P12 only in the opening Australian Grand Prix practice session, rising to P5 after the second hour in a session topped by new Ferrari team-mate Charles Leclerc.

Lewis Hamilton to adapt to Ferrari SF-25

Hamilton got his first Ferrari campaign up and running at Albert Park on Friday – a venue where he has won twice in 2008 and 2015 – though it was a low-key start as he ended the session P12 and six-tenths adrift of Leclerc.

By the end of FP2, he had gained seven positions, though still had four-tenths to find on his team-mate, who was joined by McLaren’s Oscar Piastri and Lando Norris in the top three.

“Super-exciting build-up to this week and it felt amazing to get out there and be in a Ferrari here,” Hamilton reflected.

“Honestly, the car felt so much different to what I’ve ever experienced coming to this track, so it took a little bit of bedding in through [F]P1.”

By the second session, Hamilton felt a little more up to speed in his Ferrari.

“P2 was definitely a little better, just building, but yeah, we’re slowly building and getting a little bit faster bit by bit,” he confirmed.

At that stage, Hamilton was asked to elaborate on what he meant by branding the Ferrari “so much different”.

Was that different in a good way or a negative?

“Just different,” he came back with. “Just a lot different.”

But, if he is to make the desired amount of progress, Hamilton says he will need to adapt the way he drives the Ferrari SF-25.

“But the car doesn’t feel bad or anything, it just requires a different way of driving it,” Hamilton stressed, “so adjusting my driving style bit by bit, but enjoying driving.”

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As for Leclerc, while he is not yet fully satisfied with the balance of his Ferrari SF-25, he declared that the team has stepped it up since Bahrain testing.

But, the true test will come on Saturday, when they turn up the performance and find out what they have versus their rivals.

“Honestly, we did a good preparation work, because the feeling with the car was good,” he said.

“I mean, there’s obviously things that we need to improve, as always, and I’m not very happy with the balance yet, but we are in a much better place compared to Bahrain testing and there’s still some performance to find.

“But that’s the same for everybody in the paddock. Those cars are pretty new for everyone and so you’ve got to push it to understand where exactly is the limit.

“But, it’s been a solid first day, now we’ve got to wait and see how it goes tomorrow when we push a bit more.”

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