Lewis Hamilton and Ferrari have quickly shut down any narratives of tension amid a difficult start to the season. Hamilton is eighth in the championship on just 15 points ahead of this weekend’s Bahrain Grand Prix.
At the season opener in Australia, Hamilton sounded frustrated with new engineer Riccardo Adami, suggesting that he was overloading him with information while he drove. Ferrari spurned a potential podium shot with a strategic mistake, and their new superstar signing finished 10th.
Hamilton was annoyed with the media before the Chinese GP weekend. He felt they’d manipulated his radio communications to create a false picture of conflict.
Channelling those feelings into motivation, Hamilton made a mockery of his critics by winning the Shanghai Sprint and laughing with Adami on the radio afterwards. During the race, he put the team’s interest first by proactively suggesting a swap with faster teammate Charles Leclerc.
Team principal Fred Vasseur was furious with F1 broadcasters over their radio selections. He felt they’d created a misleading impression that Ferrari imposed had team orders.
Christian Danner criticises Lewis Hamilton for unequal cars claim at Ferrari
Hamilton was later disqualified from the Chinese GP, along with Leclerc, as Ferrari’s set-up risks backfired dramatically. Last time out in Japan, he simply lacked pace as he qualified eighth and finished seventh.
Speaking to Sky Sports F1 afterwards, Hamilton claimed that Ferrari ‘found something on the car that was underperforming’. That apparently cost him one-tenth per lap to Leclerc.
Ex-F1 driver Christian Danner feels these ‘cryptic’ comments weren’t particularly ‘clever’. Hamilton, he says, isn’t processing his disappointing start in the correct manner.
Danner believes Vasseur has to respond in order to protect the team. He wants Hamilton to ‘have everything’ but shouldn’t accept his ‘snotty’ demeanour.
“He’s not really coming to terms with the whole issue,” Danner told the AvD Motorsport Magazine, via Motorsport-Magazin. “You can tell he’s a bit unsettled, almost a bit snotty, and complains about this and that.
“I mean, I expect – not necessarily for Bahrain, but at some point, of course – that Ferrari will respond to that. Fred Vasseur can’t let the driver say there’s a component on the car that’s hindering my performance.
“I don’t envy Fred because he really wants to make it work. He really wants Lewis to have everything.”
“I don’t think it’s very clever to make such cryptic accusations against the team. It’s like, ‘You didn’t give me one component, and that’s why I’m slow.’ I think, no matter how difficult it is for such a superstar, he has to bite the bullet and see how he gets on.”
When could Ferrari give up on 2025 season after internal talks?
Ferrari are ‘crippling’ their car by raising the ride height, according to one report. This was an enforced change after Hamilton’s excessive skid block wear led to his China expulsion.
But it means the Scuderia are haemorrhaging lap time relative to pace-setters McLaren. It may be that this was what Hamilton was referring to, but it’s unclear how Ferrari fix it while staying within the rules.
It emerged earlier this week that Ferrari could give up on 2025 next month if their results don’t improve. They will start to prioritise 2026 should they fall out of contention in both championships.
Hamilton could feel the benefit next year if Ferrari are more prepared for the sweeping regulation changes. The trade-off, of course, is that the short-term pain may continue.
