Ferrari row with Hamilton and Leclerc: Team principal Vasseur must now step up

What a Grand Prix weekend at Zandvoort! The atmosphere at the Dünenhütte was absolutely electric – 325,000 fans in attendance over four days, a new record for this traditional race on the North Sea coast.

The atmosphere took a bit of a knock when Max Verstappen crashed his car shortly after the start. The stands fell audibly quiet.

Later, however, the fans were rewarded with a spectacular Grand Prix – pretty much the opposite of Saturday’s rather lacklustre Sprint race.

A key theme: team orders. At Mercedes, these were rather unnecessary (as Kimi Antonelli was faster than George Russell and would have overtaken the Brit anyway), whilst at Ferrari they were rather opaque.

The Italians managed to squander a podium finish with such a fast car, and afterwards, seven-time Formula 1 champion Hamilton and nine-time Grand Prix winner Leclerc were thoroughly fed up. Both aces believe they were disadvantaged by Ferrari’s strategy.

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Ferrari row with Hamilton and Leclerc: Team principal Vasseur must now step up

Ferrari came away empty-handed at the Dutch Grand Prix: Lewis Hamilton finished fourth, Charles Leclerc fifth. Afterwards, both drivers were angry, and team principal Fred Vasseur found himself having to explain the situation.

Mathias Brunner

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Leclerc was quicker in the first part of the Grand Prix, but Hamilton closed the gap in the second part. Of course, it was clear what was coming next.

Hamilton demanded over the radio: “I’m faster than Leclerc, my tyres are better.” Translation: Let me past Charles, for goodness’ sake.

Ferrari wanted to bring Leclerc in, but Charles wasn’t in the mood for that; he stayed out two laps longer than planned. Hamilton on the radio, furious: “We’re just wasting time here!”

Then again: “What a fabulous way to waste time – great job, lads!”

Leclerc later played the innocent. Charles: “Well, I was never asked to give up my position. I focused on my pace and tried to do my best in the race. Yes, there was a discussion over the radio – but that was about which lap would probably be best for my pit stop, regardless of Hamilton behind me.”

In truth, Ferrari should have swapped positions straight away to maximise their chances of a podium finish.

Hamilton grumbled after the race: “I’m here to win; that’s my only thought. It’s not easy to watch a situation unfold in the race where Mercedes reacts immediately and does the right thing. Mercedes asked Kimi to let George past so he wouldn’t lose any time.”

In the end, Hamilton just fell short against Russell, and Charles Leclerc was closing in from behind as well. It crossed the minds of one or two fans: the race could have done with being ten laps longer.

Ferrari team principal Fred Vasseur admits to mistakes: “We probably could have done better, but it was also difficult to explain the situation to Lewis over the radio without giving away our plan to the opposition, and that led us to this decision.”

Vasseur criticises Leclerc for another reason: “We had a poor start with Charles and lost a position to Piastri, even though we were on the soft tyres. But when you start a Grand Prix in fifth and sixth place, as we did here at Zandvoort, the situation is already compromised.”

At the upcoming home race in Monza, Ferrari intends to bring the upgraded engine onto the track. This should enable Leclerc and Hamilton to secure higher positions on the starting grid. And then another clash is on the cards, especially if podium places – or perhaps even a victory – are once again at stake.

Team principal Fred Vasseur won’t always be able to brush things off as misunderstandings. From time to time, a clear line of command will be needed from the pit wall. That won’t make everyone happy.