Ferrari make Lewis Hamilton promise for Chinese GP following disastrous debut for team in Australia

Ferrari have made a 'promise' to Lewis Hamilton ahead of the Chinese Grand Prix after committing a major strategy error in Australia.

Hamilton finished in 10th place at Albert Park after being one of the last cars to pit for intermediate tyres in wet conditions.

Both the Brit and team-mate Charles Leclerc were called in on lap 47, with Hamilton telling race engineer Riccardo Adami that he felt the team should have pitted him a lap earlier.

Alongside a late-race safety car, the decision pushed both Ferraris to the fringes of the points, with Leclerc finishing eighth.

Six other teams scored more points than the Scuderia in Australia - but it is expected that they will be much more competitive in China after struggling with tyre warm-up and drag issues in Melbourne.

Now, Ferrari have confirmed that lessons will be learned over radio communications between Hamilton and his new race engineer Riccardo Adami.

Hamilton twice told Adami to 'leave me to it' after giving him information related to DRS and ERS deployment, and asked the Italian not to repeat himself over the radio.

Team principal Frederic Vasseur has said: "We need to improve the communication and to understand what Lewis is expecting from that communication.

"It's only in these kinds of situations that we can learn and be much better next week."

Aside from those minor flashpoints, Hamilton was complimentary about Adami, who was previously race engineer to former Ferrari drivers Carlos Sainz and Sebastian Vettel.

He told reporters: "I think Riccardo did a really good job. We're learning about each other bit by bit.

"After this, we'll download, we'll go through all the comments, things I said and vice versa.

"Generally, I'm not one that likes a lot of information in the race. Unless I need it, I'll ask for it. But he did his best today.

"I've learned a huge amount this weekend. There's lots to take away from it. I have some changes I will make for next week, and see how it goes. But today was a crash course in driving a Ferrari in the rain.

"Many, many things [I'd change] set-up wise. Set the car up just a lot different and position the car different in different parts, parts of the race, different calls."