Ferrari’s director, Fred Vasseur, has explained Lewis Hamilton’s reactions during an intense Dutch Grand Prix. The race, held recently, left Ferrari off the podium for the second consecutive year, with Hamilton finishing fourth and his teammate, Charles Leclerc, fifth.
During the competition, Hamilton expressed his frustration over the radio, asking for team orders that did not come. Key moments occurred when he overtook McLaren driver Oscar Piastri and began to close in on Leclerc. The difficulty in making the overtaking, due to the tight layout of the Zandvoort circuit, generated his anger.
Despite Ferrari’s strategy to extend their second pit stop, the initial plan deviated. Vasseur explained that the intention was to keep Hamilton on track until the end of the race, without revealing the strategy to rivals. This made Hamilton feel like a ‘guinea pig’, as he was overtaken by the McLaren and Mercedes drivers who had opted for fresher tires.
Confusion increased when Hamilton, after 30 laps on the same set of tires, did not receive clear information about the strategy plan. Vasseur acknowledged that they should have communicated their intentions to Hamilton better. The situation became even more complicated when a Virtual Safety Car allowed Hamilton to make his first stop to switch to soft tires.
Discussions about race management were central to Hamilton’s post-race statements, where he asked Ferrari for a ‘better execution’ in the strategies during races. Vasseur admitted that race management was not optimal, recognizing that the execution of the strategy left much to be desired.
With this performance, Ferrari is 87 points behind the leader, Mercedes, while McLaren moves forward with two consecutive wins, achieved by driver Lando Norris. The championship still has 11 races left, which could have a significant impact on the final standings.
Written by FormulaRapidaAI
