The pre-season buzz around Lewis Hamilton's blockbuster move and Ferrari's title ambitions faded in Melbourne, with the red cars crossing the line in P8 and P10.
McLaren, now leading both the drivers' and constructors' championships, isn't popping champagne yet. "We haven't really seen what Ferrari can do yet," team principal Andrea Stella cautioned.
It was a messy weekend for the Maranello squad, with boss Frederic Vasseur blaming multiple "mistakes" for masking the 2025 car's true pace.
But Hamilton's mention of needing to tweak his driving style caught attention.
"I see this as a very dangerous sign," former F1 driver Christian Danner told RTL. "Because no one has ever really managed to adapt their driving style.
"It could be a pretty tough season for Lewis."
Early hints of friction between Hamilton and his new race engineer, after years with Peter 'Bono' Bonnington at Mercedes, also surfaced.
"We learned a lot from this weekend, because we made mistakes," Vasseur conceded. "We need to improve the communication and understand what Lewis needs in terms of communication."
At 40, Hamilton pointed to a larger issue.
"McLaren and Red Bull are incredibly fast," the Briton said. "We have a lot of work ahead of us. In China, I'll try to take a different approach to the setup."
Charles Leclerc, who finished P8 two spots ahead of Hamilton, remarked: "If you look at the pace of the McLaren today, it was incredible. And even a lot faster than when they took pole."
Former F1 driver Timo Glock told Sky Deutschland: "Of the top teams, Ferrari was the clear flop in Australia."
Even Mercedes is already weighing an early pivot of resources from the 2025 car to the all-new 2026 project, effectively conceding this year's title fight.
"I would like to be a bit closer to Red Bull and McLaren, but this is the reality," said team boss Toto Wolff.
"Now we need a few more races to see if we can get close and if it is worth putting our resources into this car. But it's just the first weekend, so we'll find out."
