Lewis Hamilton has unleashed a storm at Ferrari. The seven-time world champion exposed the internal cracks in the team after a day full of tension, recriminations, and poisonous barbs over the radio. Far from being a step forward for the Maranello team, the Grand Prix turned into a public nightmare where Hamilton’s frustration marked every lap.
The Briton, still far from feeling comfortable behind the wheel of the SF-24, started from 12th position, while his teammate Charles Leclerc started eighth. With a good comeback, Hamilton caught up with Leclerc halfway through the race, and that’s when the chaos began. Trapped behind the Monegasque driver, his frustration boiled over with sarcastic remarks, growing anger, and a clear message that things at Ferrari were not working out as he had hoped.
Hamilton loses his cool on the radio
From lap 38 onwards, the tension between Hamilton and his engineer Riccardo Adami grew. The Briton, behind Leclerc and visibly faster, insisted on being let through: “I’m burning my tires behind him,” he warned over the radio. However, the team did not agree at first.
“Do you want me to sit here for the whole race?” he exclaimed, annoyed. From the pit wall, he was asked to stay in Leclerc’s DRS: ‘We want you to stay in DRS with Charles. Keep going.’ Hamilton’s response was blunt and revealing: ”This is not good teamwork, that’s all I’m going to say.”
His words hinted at the Briton’s deep unease with the way Ferrari manages its drivers. Finally, on lap 39, the team ordered Leclerc to give up the position. But before that happened, Hamilton threw another jab: “In China, I got out of the way,” recalling an occasion when he did allow an overtaking maneuver without argument.
Hamilton delivers a damning blow
The tension reached its peak with one of the most talked-about phrases of the weekend: “Ah! Take a tea break!” Hamilton snapped, ironically, just before Leclerc handed him seventh place. A phrase that has been repeated around the world and sums up the British driver’s level of anger.
However, the joy was short-lived. With five laps to go and Andrea Kimi Antonelli too far ahead, Ferrari ordered Hamilton to give back the position. Leclerc had warned over the radio: “I need Lewis to go faster because I’m in dirty air.” With no real chance of moving up, the team opted to swap positions again.
Hamilton obeyed, but not without making another scathing comment. When informed of Carlos Sainz’s proximity, he responded sarcastically: “You want me to let him pass too?” Another jab that showed his dissatisfaction with the team’s decisions.
Hamilton and Ferrari
The race ended with Leclerc in seventh and Hamilton in eighth. A disappointing result for Ferrari, which at the start of the season dreamed of fighting for the title. The bad atmosphere, contradictory decisions, and frustration of its new star paint a complicated picture for a team that had high hopes and is now becoming one of the big disappointments of the season so far.
Far from finding stability, Ferrari is experiencing a start to the season marked by uncertainty and, now, by a public outburst from Hamilton that could have internal consequences. What was supposed to be a new era of glory with a seven-time world champion at the wheel is turning into a ticking time bomb that looks set to get worse in the coming races.