'Wish race was longer': Lewis Hamilton after the Australian GP
What's the story
Despite finishing fourth in the Australian Grand Prix, Lewis Hamilton was left optimistic about his performance. The seven-time World Champion expressed his excitement for future races after a "really fun" experience at Melbourne. He even wished that the race could have lasted longer, especially after narrowly missing out on third place to his Ferrari teammate Charles Leclerc.
Race details
Hamilton's charge and the VSC factor
Starting from seventh on the grid, Hamilton made an impressive start to the race in Melbourne. He quickly moved up to third position behind Leclerc and Mercedes driver George Russell. However, during two Virtual Safety Cars, both Ferrari cars stayed out while Mercedes pitted their drivers. This strategy put Leclerc and Hamilton behind when they finally made their stops.
Race strategy
'I wish the race was longer'
Even though it looked like Mercedes had secured a 1-2 finish, Hamilton chased Leclerc in the race's final stages. However, he narrowly missed out on a podium finish, finishing just over half a second behind his teammate. Post-race, Hamilton said he felt great and could have continued racing if given more time. "I wish the race was longer! Another five laps or so, I think I would have got third," he added after the race.
Future prospects
On Ferrari's performance and front-runners
When asked if he thought Scuderia Ferrari could join the front-runners with more improvements, Hamilton said they have work to do. He said they needed to work on improving their power, clearly, because [Mercedes have] just got more power than everyone. However, he was optimistic about their performance today and felt great in the car. Hamilton added that he really thought they maximized their result and their performance.
Race
F1 2026: George Russell wins season-opening Australian GP
Mercedes showed their power and intensity in the season-opening 2026 Australian Grand Prix. Russell came out on top to win the race. He finished ahead of teammate Kimi Antonelli as Mercedes dominated the scenes. Scuderia Ferrari's Leclerc claimed third place to take the final podium whereas Hamilton finished fourth. Hamilton owns 12 points after the race.
Views
Hamilton feels Mercedes are in the fight
Hamilton, when asked about whether Ferrari should have pitted under the virtual safety car, said: "I really don't know I need to go back and have a look, but I'm really proud of the team I think they've done an amazing job to get the car to where it is." He also said Mercedes are in the fight and it was a fun race. "It felt good for me and also in a couple of more laps I would have had Charles [Leclerc]. "I had great pace and lots of positives to take from today."