FUMING Lewis Hamilton swore down his team radio after a Ferrari strategy blunder blew his chances of Australian Grand Prix glory.
Hamilton had scored P8 in qualifying on his debut for the Scuderia.
Wet conditions in Melbourne promised chaos at the Formula One season opener and duly delivered as six cars crashed out.
However, Hamilton looked set to profit from the changeable conditions as drivers switched from dry tyres back to wet under a safety car.
A rain shower in the middle of a dry spell was only scheduled for at most three laps, but was enough to convince other teams to pit when Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri went off track.
Hamilton and team-mate Charles Leclerc had stayed out and suddenly found themselves in the podium spots after race leaders Norris and Max Verstappen pitted for fresh rubber.
READ MORE IN F1
However, Ferrari chiefs then followed suit by pitting their drivers when the field was bunched up, causing them to drop back to P9 and P10.
Speaking on the radio to engineer Riccardo Adami, Hamilton said: “We just missed a big opportunity there. What position am I now in?”
When he was told he was back in P9, Hamilton blasted the word “s***” down the radio, before apologising because he did not realise it was still on.
Early on in the race, Hamilton – who had admitted after qualifying that he might struggle in his new car if it rained – asked: “Tell me where I’m slow, I’m having a hard time.”
Most read in Motorsport
BEST FREE BETS AND BETTING SIGN UP OFFERS
But later, when Adami was trying to give Hamilton information about DRS, Hamilton snapped: “Leave it guys, leave it. I’m learning the car as I go mate, just leave me to it with the DRS. It’s not an issue.”
During the period he was leading Hamilton had told his engineer it was “slippery”, which may have informed the team’s decision to bring him in.
Speaking after the race, Hamilton said: “It was very tricky and went a lot worse than I thought it would go. The car was really, really hard to drive today.
“For me, I’m just grateful I kept it out of the wall because that’s where it wanted to go most of the time.
“A lot to take from it and just getting acclimatised with the new power unit in the wet conditions.
“The settings it requires are different, and a different way of driving and a different set-up on the steering wheel.
“I hung out as long as I could, got in the lead at one point. Just the guidance with how much more rain was coming, was missing there, so I think we missed out.”
Leclerc had also not been too happy with his engineer earlier in the race.
In a bizarre exchange, Leclerc had complained his car was full of water and asked whether there was a leakage.
His engineer replied: “Must be the water.”
To which Leclerc sarcastically sniped back: “Let’s add that to the words of wisdom.”
The race was eventually won by Norris who edged out Verstappen, while George Russell finished third.
READ MORE SUN STORIES
Hamilton had managed to overtake Pierre Gasly after his stop, but was overtaken in turn by Leclerc and Piastri to see him finish P10.
He will now be hoping for vast improvements at next week’s GP in China.
Source: Motorsport - thesun.co.uk
