Lewis Hamilton fears 'uncomfortable shock' as wet weather threatens Australian GP

Lewis Hamilton is worried rain at the Australian Grand Prix will put him in an "uncomfortable position", given his lack of experience at the wheel of his Ferrari.

Having only made the switch to the Italian team over the winter, the seven-time F1 drivers' champion has not had the opportunity to try out his new machinery in adverse conditions, making tomorrow's race in Melbourne a step into the unknown.

The British driver claimed it would be a "shock to the system" if wet weather does arrive. He detailed some of his concerns when speaking to media including RacingNews365.

"Frickin', I've never driven the car in the wet!" he exclaimed when the weather forecast was put to him. "I don't even know where the wet switch is. I don't know which buttons I've got to switch towards tomorrow, so that's going to be new."

Hamilton singled out the Brembo brakes used by the Maranello-based team, having become accustomed to Endless brakes over the past 12 seasons at Mercedes.

"We're using Brembos [brakes], for example, which I've not used at all -  probably not since I was much younger," he said.

"I don't think I've used them for a long, long time. So how do the Brembos behave in the wet? I don't know if they're glazed [or] what settings I'm gonna have to use with this car? It's all different."

Hamilton: wet weather is usually a 'comfort zone'

Wet weather is often considered the great equaliser in motorsport and having qualified a disappointing eight-quickest at Albert Park, usually it would be a blessing to Hamilton.

However, given the unique circumstances the 40-year-old finds looming over him and his new team, the situation facing the 105-time grand prix winner is a departure from the norm.

"Oh, definitely. Definitely," he replied when it was highlighted how rain provides an opportunity. "When you qualify eighth best, you hope for it to be wet, but for me, I've got three laps to learn the car in wet [conditions] and then get out into the race."

Hamilton is one of only three drivers on the current F1 grid to have experienced racing in Melbourne in the wet, along with Fernando Alonso and Nico Hulkenberg.

The 2010 running of the grand prix saw rain affect the early stages of the race in a wet-to-dry affair won by Jenson Button.

Hamilton, in the other McLaren, recovered from P11 to sixth. However, he has little recollection of it. "I've got a bad memory, so I don't actually remember driving here in the wet," the Ferrari driver said.

"But the wets often been something I've always enjoyed. Growing up in England, it was always wet, so it's been a comfort zone for me.

"But as I said, I'm going actually for the first time in the wet in an uncomfortable position, because I've never driven this car, so it's going to be a shock to the system when I get out there, but I'm going to be learning on the fly and just giving it everything."