‘Worse than I Thought’: Hamilton Endures Difficult Ferrari Debut

 Formula One F1 - Australian Grand Prix - Albert Park Grand Prix Circuit, Melbourne, Australia - March 16, 2025 Ferrari's Lewis Hamilton in action during warm up. (Reuters)
Formula One F1 - Australian Grand Prix - Albert Park Grand Prix Circuit, Melbourne, Australia - March 16, 2025 Ferrari's Lewis Hamilton in action during warm up. (Reuters)
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‘Worse than I Thought’: Hamilton Endures Difficult Ferrari Debut

 Formula One F1 - Australian Grand Prix - Albert Park Grand Prix Circuit, Melbourne, Australia - March 16, 2025 Ferrari's Lewis Hamilton in action during warm up. (Reuters)
Formula One F1 - Australian Grand Prix - Albert Park Grand Prix Circuit, Melbourne, Australia - March 16, 2025 Ferrari's Lewis Hamilton in action during warm up. (Reuters)

Lewis Hamilton said Sunday he found his new Ferrari "really, really hard to drive" in the wet as the seven-time world champion endured a difficult start to his career at the Scuderia.

The 40-year-old is hoping for a new lease of life after his bombshell switch from Mercedes, but it has been a steep learning curve since he joined the Italian team in January.

It culminated in a disappointing 10th in the season-opening Australian Grand Prix, where he was well off the pace of McLaren, Red Bull and Mercedes and behind teammate Charles Leclerc in a rain-hit race, punctuated by safety cars.

"It was very tricky and went a lot worse than I thought it would go. The car was really, really hard to drive today," he said after a race that was marred by a series of crashes in the treacherous conditions.

"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."

Hamilton was in the Ferrari not only for his first Grand Prix, but also for the first time in wet conditions.

Clearly still getting used to how his new team works, he was heard on the radio at one time telling his race engineer they had "missed a big opportunity" to capitalize strategically after he led briefly during a series of pit stops under the safety car.

A delayed switch back to intermediate rain tires dropped him back down the field, but the Briton said afterwards there had been "a lot" to take from his debut.

"Just getting acclimatized with the new power unit in the wet conditions," he said.

"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."



Japan’s King Kazu Wants More After First Appearance of 40th Season 

Paris St Germain's Lionel Messi, Neymar and Kylian Mbappe talk with Kazuyoshi Miura, Japanese soccer legend and Japan Football League club Suzuka Point Getters player, during a news conference upon their team's arrival in Tokyo for their team's tour of Japan in Tokyo, Japan July 17, 2022. (Reuters)
Paris St Germain's Lionel Messi, Neymar and Kylian Mbappe talk with Kazuyoshi Miura, Japanese soccer legend and Japan Football League club Suzuka Point Getters player, during a news conference upon their team's arrival in Tokyo for their team's tour of Japan in Tokyo, Japan July 17, 2022. (Reuters)
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Japan’s King Kazu Wants More After First Appearance of 40th Season 

Paris St Germain's Lionel Messi, Neymar and Kylian Mbappe talk with Kazuyoshi Miura, Japanese soccer legend and Japan Football League club Suzuka Point Getters player, during a news conference upon their team's arrival in Tokyo for their team's tour of Japan in Tokyo, Japan July 17, 2022. (Reuters)
Paris St Germain's Lionel Messi, Neymar and Kylian Mbappe talk with Kazuyoshi Miura, Japanese soccer legend and Japan Football League club Suzuka Point Getters player, during a news conference upon their team's arrival in Tokyo for their team's tour of Japan in Tokyo, Japan July 17, 2022. (Reuters)

Japan's Kazuyoshi "King Kazu" Miura made his first appearance of his 40th season as a professional footballer at the weekend and shows no sign of wanting to hang up his boots any time soon.

The former international forward, who turned 58 in February, came on as a late substitute in Atletico Suzuka's 2-1 win over YSCC Yokohama in the fourth tier of the Japanese pyramid on Sunday.

The popular striker signed an 18-month loan deal with Suzuka last June but a leg injury sustained in January had kept him on the sidelines from the start of this Japan Football League season.

"I hope to play again showing my character," Miura told Kyodo news agency after the match.

"I managed to play thanks to the support from everyone. I'm looking to stepping up a gear from here."

Miura made his first two appearances for Santos in the 1986 Brazilian Championship, having headed alone to South America to pursue his football dream as a 15-year-old.

He returned to Japan as an established international to join Verdy Kawasaki and helped them win the first two J.League titles in 1993 and 1994. He scored 55 goals in 89 appearances for Japan, the last of which came in 2000.

Miura, whose long club career has also included spells in Italy, Croatia, Australia and Portugal, still has a way to go to match Egyptian Ezzeldin Bahader's record of turning out for a professional team at the age of 74.

Given his commitment to the game, however, it might be foolish to write him off.

"When I was around 35 or 40, I did start saying to myself, 'I can't keep playing this way'," he told FIFA.com in April.

"Rather than giving any thought to quitting, it was more about pushing myself to give more. It's not so much that the word 'retire' isn't in my vocabulary, but more that I've never felt any desire to do it."