Ferrari: Tensions After Zandvoort? Charles Leclerc Tells His Side of the Story
Ferrari was disappointed at Zandvoort, where the Dutch Grand Prix ended with Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc finishing fourth and fifth, respectively. Hamilton himself expressed his frustration both during the race over the radio and, in softer but equally stern terms, after the race ended, over a lack of team orders that could have allowed him to have more options for a podium finish in the final battle with George Russell’s Mercedes. The Monegasque driver also addressed the situation at the end of the day in an interview with the French network ‘Canal+’.
“Hamilton and I didn’t speak to each other,” Leclerc admitted. In general, though, we get along very well, even if there are situations where I have reason to be frustrated and others where he does. From that perspective, there are no problems, although it’s true that during the pit stops I would have liked to stay on the track longer. We’d already discussed this at Ferrari before the race, and I’d been clear on that point. I came back to the pits when they asked me to, though I admit it bothered me that we were trying to put pressure on Russell and in the end I still found myself five seconds behind him. But that’s how it went—oh well.”
Hamilton’s take on the matter was even more direct. “It was a great effort, but I think I was faster than Charles during the race. I lost a lot of time behind him because the team didn’t do what they were supposed to do or didn’t make the decision they should have made. That’s where we lost the podium,” the seven-time world champion had stated after the race, explicitly pointing the finger at the team’s handling of the final stages of the Grand Prix, when Leclerc—running at a slower pace than his teammate—failed to assist Hamilton as needed to challenge Russell.
Lando Norris won the race, securing his second victory following his win in Hungary in the last Grand Prix before the summer break. The reigning world champion, who started from pole position, had to wait a long time, however, before taking the lead in the race, which was initially led by Kimi Antonelli. The race was marked from the very first lap by a red flag caused by an accident involving Max Verstappen, the local hero who fortunately emerged unharmed after a violent crash into the barriers at Turn 14. Behind Norris, Antonelli secured a hard-fought second-place finish, while Russell rounded out the podium thanks in part to a Mercedes team order that led to a position swap with his teammate.
The result is all the more disappointing when considering the standings: with this double finish off the podium, Ferrari misses a precious opportunity to close the gap on Mercedes in the world championship battle. Antonelli leads the Drivers’ Championship with a considerable advantage over Hamilton and Russell, who are now tied for second place in the standings, while in the Constructors’ Championship, Mercedes maintains a significant lead over Ferrari. It was hoped that the Dutch Grand Prix weekend would help narrow that gap.
After all, the outlook was far from bleak. Both Hamilton and Leclerc arrived at Zandvoort with great determination following weeks of intense work at Maranello during the summer break, convinced they could compete for the top positions. “I’m really proud of how much Ferrari has improved since the start of the season,” Hamilton had said on the eve of the race. Saturday’s qualifying session, however, quickly tempered those ambitions, with Hamilton fifth and Leclerc sixth, both more than three-tenths behind Norris. This gap on the grid inevitably affected the race, making the regret over a strategic approach—which, at least according to those directly involved, failed to make the most of the SF-26’s race pace—all the more bitter.
