Lewis Hamilton was demanding better execution from Ferrari for the second half of the season. At Zandvoort, Scuderia’s mistakes probably cost him the podium.
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Lewis Hamilton had identified Ferrari’s priority even before the Dutch Grand Prix: better execution of their weekends. A few days later, Zandvoort gave him a particularly frustrating illustration of the path still to travel.
Before the start of the Dutch weekend, the seven-time world champion had nevertheless been very positive about Ferrari’s development and the atmosphere prevailing in Maranello. Despite the difficulties encountered since the beginning of the season, Hamilton believed that the Scuderia had made significant progress.
“We still have to keep improving our car. There are clearly many areas where we need to improve, but we have come a long way.”
The Briton also highlighted the difficulty represented by the introduction of the new technical regulations in 2026, believing that all teams had made mistakes.
But when it came to identifying what he mainly expected from Ferrari for the second part of the season, Hamilton was very clear.
“I don’t think I can ask more from the team, except that we have to try to execute things better during the second half of the season.”
A request that would take on a particular dimension a few days later.
Ferrari had nevertheless regained performance
In terms of pure performance, the Zandvoort weekend was encouraging for Ferrari. The Scuderia had a significant package of upgrades including notably a new floor, a reworked diffuser and a new beam wing configuration.
Qualifying, however, did not allow them to exploit its full potential. Hamilton finished fifth, just ahead of Charles Leclerc, both Ferraris finishing more than three tenths off pole position.
In the race, the picture was different. The pace of the SF-26 proved competitive enough to mix in the fight for the podium. Fred Vasseur even believed that Ferrari was faster than Mercedes.
Yet, Kimi Antonelli and George Russell finished second and third, ahead of Hamilton and Leclerc.
The speed was therefore there. The execution, much less so.
Hamilton loses patience behind Leclerc
One of the most revealing episodes occurred when Hamilton, benefiting from fresher tires thanks to an alternate strategy, quickly caught up with Leclerc.
The Briton then had more pace and wanted to continue his climb towards the Mercedes. Ferrari, however, did not immediately release its driver.
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Hamilton began to show his impatience on the radio as precious seconds slipped away. Leclerc was eventually called into the pits, but only after a confusing sequence in which Ferrari changed its instructions.
Vasseur later explained that the team had initially planned to bring the Monegasque in before extending his stint by one lap due to traffic he might have encountered on rejoining.
A hesitation that directly penalized Hamilton.
Zandvoort proves him right
The Briton’s frustration was not limited to this episode. Later in the race, while he was temporarily leading with aging tires and Lando Norris and Antonelli were quickly closing in, Hamilton also questioned Ferrari about his strategy.
He even went as far as asking if he was serving as a “guinea pig” for his team.
The contrast with Mercedes did not go unnoticed. When the German team had to manage Antonelli and Russell at the end of the race, it quickly imposed an order to protect its double podium.
Ferrari, on the other hand, gave the impression of hesitating at several decisive moments.
Hamilton eventually finished fourth, less than a second behind Russell. A gap small enough to make the seconds lost behind Leclerc even more frustrating.
“I think the time lost behind Charles ultimately made the difference at the end.”
Vasseur acknowledges several mistakes
Fred Vasseur did not try to hide the problems encountered by his team. The Ferrari director notably pointed out Leclerc’s poor second start, a pit stop that was too slow and several execution errors.
All elements that prevented Ferrari from turning its pace into results.
The observation is all the more worrying as it is not a new problem. Before the summer break, at the Hungarian Grand Prix, Vasseur had already described Ferrari’s execution as “very bad”.
Hamilton had therefore perfectly identified the problem before Zandvoort.
Hamilton nevertheless admits to having gone too far
After the race, the Briton took a step back on some of his radio interventions. After re-listening to his messages and statements, he admitted that his frustration had sometimes taken over.
“In the heat of the moment, frustration can come out, especially when you are as deeply involved as I am. But it was not the best version of myself. I take responsibility for it and I will do better.”
Hamilton therefore does not question his commitment to Ferrari. On the contrary, he assures that the direction taken by the team is clear and that the fight continues.
But at Zandvoort, his main request made even before the start of the weekend went unanswered: Ferrari now has a car capable of fighting at the front, but still needs to learn to convert this performance into results.
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