Lewis Hamilton has come back on his particularly harsh statements against Ferrari after the Dutch Grand Prix: frustrated by the management of team orders, he admits having let his emotions get the better of him and promises to react better in the future.
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Hamilton’s frustration was particularly audible during the race as he questioned the strategy adopted by the Scuderia, or more precisely the lack of strategy.
The seven-time world champion found himself behind Charles Leclerc while he believed he had a better pace allowing him to attack George Russell for third place.
Sarcastic and ironic towards his team
Ferrari had nevertheless chosen not to immediately ask Leclerc to give way. A situation all the more difficult for Hamilton to accept as he had observed Mercedes applying a clear order between Kimi Antonelli and Russell a few laps later.
When Leclerc finally came into the pits, Hamilton sarcastically said on the radio: “An excellent way to lose time, guys. Nice job.”
Later, another strategic decision by Ferrari provoked another reaction: “Are you using me as a guinea pig or what?”
Hamilton was also particularly annoyed when the team mentioned bad luck to explain the result: “We were not unlucky! We lost time and that cost us P3.”
Timo Glock agrees with Hamilton
On the substance, the Ferrari driver’s criticisms found some resonance with former colleagues.
Timo Glock, consultant for Sky Deutschland, notably believes that the Scuderia should have acted like Mercedes: “Hamilton is right. Mercedes does it. They let Antonelli pass George Russell. Ferrari should have done the same at that moment.”
Read more Mercedes decides, Ferrari hesitates: Zandvoort illustrates two opposing philosophies
Nico Rosberg also analyzed the Mercedes order. The former world champion acknowledged it was tough for Russell to live with, but understandable since the team otherwise risked compromising both podium places.
Hamilton admits he went too far
After having time to review his comments, Hamilton however decided to publicly apologize: “I re-listened to some of my comments on the radio and on television,” he wrote on Instagram. In the heat of the moment, frustration can come out, especially when you are as involved as I am. But it was not the best version of myself.”
The Briton therefore takes responsibility for the tone used: “I take responsibility and I will do better.”
His apologies do not however mean that Ferrari considers it managed the situation perfectly.
Vasseur: an imperfect execution
Ferrari team principal Fred Vasseur explains nevertheless that the situation was more complex than it seemed, notably because the team did not want to reveal its strategy to its rivals by giving too much information to Hamilton over the radio: “We probably could have done better, but it was also difficult to explain the situation to Lewis on the radio without revealing our plan to our competitors.”
Charles Leclerc for his part sought to defuse any controversy regarding possible internal tension: “These are normal discussions during a race. There was some confusion about my pit stop timing because on exit, I would have found myself in traffic. From the outside, it may seem incomprehensible.”
Hamilton therefore regrets the way he expressed his dissatisfaction, but the episode does not completely disappear for all that. Vasseur himself acknowledges that Ferrari could have executed its strategy better, and discussions should now continue internally to avoid a similar situation from happening again.
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