Portugal Colonial - Hamilton calls Ferrari debut 'most exciting period of my life'

After 12 years with Mercedes he will race for the first time in the Ferrari red at the season-opening Australian Grand Prix this week, knowing expectations are high.

The seven-time world champion officially began work at the Scuderia in January after his shock move and completed 162 laps of testing in Bahrain.

The 40-year-old said it was hard to assess Ferrari's place in the pecking order so early in the season.

"Obviously three days in the car, difficult to know where we stand with everyone else. But we just try to keep our heads down and just focus on our job," he said in Melbourne.

"But for me, I mean, I'm just itching to get going, I guess it's been a long time coming."

Ferrari were pipped to the constructors' championship by McLaren last year, the seventh time the Italian team had finished second since they last won the team title in 2008.

Kimi Raikkonen was the last driver to lift the world championship for Ferrari in 2007 and Hamilton tempered expectations about what he might achieve.

- 'I can deliver' -

"I have an expectation for myself. I know what I can bring, I know I can deliver, I know what it's going to take to do that, and it's just getting your head down and working away," he said.

"So I come with a very open mind. It is about getting into the season, this is about getting into a good rhythm.

"I'm still learning this new car that's quite a lot different to what I've driven for my previous career, in the sense of Mercedes power coming into Ferrari power," he added.

"It's something quite new, different vibration, different feel, different way of working.

"The whole team works completely differently."

But he said the new challenge motivated him.

"Definitely this is the most exciting period of my life, and so I'm really just enjoying it, and I'm so excited to get in the car tomorrow," he said.

"The sooner you can get to performing at the high level, and getting results is the better. But admittedly, there is a transition period, and there is a foundation that needs to be built.

"That's what we've been doing over the past couple of months and the first half of the season really is kind of that foundation, building those relationships, the trust you're building with absolutely every single person within the team."

Asked what would be a good result in Melbourne, he replied: "I think I just ultimately want to come away knowing that I've given absolutely everything.

"That I've excelled in the way that I know I can, that I felt comfortable in the car and just one foot in front of the other."

G.M.Castelo--PC