Lewis Hamilton has opted to praise Ferrari’s Dutch GP performance, despite frustrations with strategy that ultimately saw him finish just outside the podium positions in P4. Hamilton’s misgivings with the Scuderia’s strategy were heard on multiple occasions over team radio.
On Lap 42, Hamilton was in P3 with four-lap fresher tyres than teammate Charles Leclerc, whose lack of team orders to let Hamilton by, followed by an apparent refusal to pit the following lap, led to the Briton’s first sarcastic remark on team radio: “Great way of wasting time guys, good job.”
Just prior to a Lap 55 Virtual Safety Car, Hamilton, who had been told to go long for a second time on tyre strategy, had Kimi Antonelli and eventual winner Lando Norris for company, arguing over the radio: “Are you using me as a guinea pig or what? What’s going on? How long will you have me stay out?”
Hamilton pitted under the VSC to come out ahead of teammate Leclerc in P4, and despite chasing down George Russell in the final laps after yet another VSC and late pit stop, fourth is where the seven-time world champion would stay.
Hamilton praises Ferrari but admits to Dutch GP frustration
As Ferrari team boss Fred Vasseur assured he is “not worried” by Hamilton’s feisty radio messages, the Briton himself reflected on the Dutch GP, opting to praise the Scuderia’s performance before airing any of his frustrations.
Hamilton told Sky F1 post-race: “Firstly, the guys in the garage did a fantastic job. Pit stops, strategy was generally very, very good. The car felt awesome and they have continued to work so hard.. “
“We brought a bit of an upgrade here. We are just chipping away at it all the time. This first half of the season we have been losing three to five tenths on the straight depending on which track we go to and that’s a hard deficit to overcome just through the corners. But we are close.”
Hamilton’s P4 result, alongside Antonelli’s P2 and Russell’s podium finish, now means he is 59 points behind the Italian teenager in the Drivers’ standings, and level with his former Mercedes teammate. Despite the praise, Hamilton could not hide the fact he comes away from Zandvoort for the very last time frustrated.
“But today was definitely frustrating for me,” Hamilton continued, before suggesting his time behind Leclerc ultimately cost him the final podium place.
“I’m here to win and I really believe that this team can win. We couldn’t win this race but to win championships you have to pick up every point and the last few races have been difficult with penalties and stuff and then, today, I lost several seconds behind Charles which I think ultimately would have made the difference at the end.
“But we will take it off line. My goal is to try and lead this team to the championship and we’ve got some work to do for sure.”
