Ferrari issued a tongue-in-cheek statement about some "highly questionable editorial decisions" made as the team's Formula One drivers launched a takeover of its social media channels. In addition to their usual media day duties ahead of this weekend's Singapore Grand Prix, Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc found the time to have some fun using Ferrari's official handles.
That included some less-than-polished posts of the pair using fun filters on each other, and a selfie from Leclerc asking fans for opinions on his hair. The activity then ended with an 'unofficial statement' put out by the Ferrari team via its official Instagram page. It adopted an apologetic tone for the content put out by Hamilton and Leclerc, even though it was clear that the whole takeover was a pre-planned stunt.
Team's 'unofficial statement'
The team wrote: "Scuderia Ferrari HP confirms that, over the past two hours, two individuals within the organisation gained unauthorised control of our social media channels."
"During this period, a series of highly questionable editorial decisions were made, including changes to our profile picture and the publication of content that did not undergo our standard approval procedures.
"We can confirm that the two suspects have been identified and the situation has now been contained. Full control of our accounts has been restored. We thank our fans for their understanding during this unprecedented incident."
Drivers eye Singapore challenge
The stunt went down well with fans who enjoyed seeing the more laidback side of the two drivers being put on show for all to see. That said, everyone connected to the Scuderia is hoping to see them get down to business and hit the ground running in Singapore this weekend.
Given it has fewer long straights than some other recent circuits, Ferrari hope the Marina Bay circuit will be better suited to their car, which has been strong through corners all season but has lacked power compared to the teams using Mercedes and Red Bull engines.
Leclerc said: "It definitely is one of those tracks where the layout seems to be pretty good for us. Whether this will pay off or not… Budapest and Monaco were strong layouts for us on paper and it didn't go well. Silverstone was a bad layout on paper and it went really well.
"I don't know if it tells the full story but we'll give our best. Historically we've been quite strong here, but we cannot really rely on the past. We've got to do everything we can to be in the best possible situation. It's also true that the tendency lately has been that we've been losing a bit of performance compared to the guys in front, so to win will be very difficult."
And Hamilton added: "Our car, it's generally good on street circuits, particularly when there's not particularly long straights. This is a high-drag circuit, so I'm hoping the advantage others have on those long straights kind of comes down a little bit and we can start matching them.
"We're here to attack. Qualifying is key, and it would be really great if we could start on the right foot and then just be attacking in qualifying."
