Lewis Hamilton issued a blunt five-word demand to Ferrari after a frustrating fourth-place finish at the Dutch Grand Prix. The seven-time world champion was unhappy with how his team handled certain in-race situations and made his feelings clear during the race.
Hamilton could be heard getting irritated with his team, labelling the race as “frustrating”. He appeared upset that the team were stopping him from overtaking teammate Charles Leclerc, despite boasting fresher tyres. Over the radio, he said: "I'm quicker than Charles. These tyres are better." Before adding: "We are just losing time!... A great way of wasting time guys, good job."
Five-word message to Ferrari bosses
Hamilton did eventually get ahead of Leclerc after the Monegasque star pitted late on. But the damage had been done and it was too late to mount a podium challenge. The frank words continued after the race finished, with Hamilton sending a clear message to his Ferrari bosses. The distinct five-word quip aimed at the hierarchy was: “I’m here to win titles.”
The Brit was more measured in his assessment of the team post-race, adding: “The guys in the garage did a good job with pit-stops and strategy was generally very good. We’re just chipping away at it. This first half of the season, we’ve lost three to five tenths on the straight; that’s a hard deficit to overcome.”
Hamilton doubles down on Leclerc frustration
But he doubled down on his Leclerc take: “Today was definitely frustrating for me. I’m here to win and I believe this team can win but to win championships you have to pick up every possible point. Today, I lost several seconds behind Charles which would’ve made the difference at the end. We’ll take it offline and my goal is to lead this team to the championship. We’ve got some work to do for sure.”
Hamilton remains in a strong position, sitting fourth in the Drivers’ Championship standings, 24 points clear of Lando Norris in fifth. He’s unlikely to challenge Kimi Antonelli at the top of the standings, with the Italian a whopping 59 points in front. Having only just returned from summer break, the drivers will be afforded yet another week off ahead of the Italian Grand Prix next month. It will mark the second home race for Hamilton with Ferrari, having finished sixth for the Scuderia at Monza last year.
