Peter Windsor thinks Ferrari made an ‘absolutely astonishing’ mistake he’s never seen before at the Miami Grand Prix

Ferrari were at the centre of a team orders meltdown between their drivers during the Miami Grand Prix.

Lewis Hamilton was running in eighth place behind Charles Leclerc during the latter stages of the race, with the seven-time world champion running the alternate strategy after qualifying outside the top ten and could spot an opportunity to catch Andrea Kimi Antonelli in P6.

Lelcerc was on the conventional strategy having started on the medium tyres and finished on the slower hard tyres, which is why Hamilton felt the team should have let him past.

What ensued was a series of awkward messages from Hamilton, in which he told his engineer to “have a tea break” as he became increasingly frustrated at the lack of action.

Ferrari made the switch, but by then his tyres had overheated and Antonelli had built up enough of a gap to prevent Hamilton from catching. Leclerc was informed they would swap again, but when it happened, Hamilton did not obey the order.

Discussing what happened during the race on the Cameron CC podcast, Peter Windsor felt Ferrari should’ve discussed the situation beforehand.

Ferrari should have discussed team orders before Miami Grand Prix

Teams usually discuss what happens between drivers on alternate strategies in their debriefs before the races, going through each scenario with the drivers.

This is so they know what to do without losing time, but Windsor thinks it was clear Ferrari did not do this with Hamilton and Leclerc.

“None of that should’ve been happening on the radio. It all should’ve been sorted before the race,” said Windsor.

“They should’ve said ‘If Lewis is behind you Charles, and he’s on the medium tyres and is more than two tenths quicker, we will make the call and tell you exactly when you must move over’ and If he doesn’t do anything with his mediums, you will get the position back later on. No discussion, get on with it.

“They never did that, which I find absolutely astonishing. I’ve been around F1 for over 50 years and I cannot think of a race team in which that conversation wouldn’t have taken place before the start.”

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Ferrari wanted to assess options before making a decision with drivers

Ferrari fans felt they had embarrassed themselves with the team orders scenario, highlighting the clear communication issues they are facing.

Hamilton was unhappy with his Ferrari team after the race, with team principal Fred Vasseur sitting down with him after the Miami race to discuss what happened.

Vasseur later said they wanted to assess the options before swapping the cars, feeling that the decision didn’t take as long as some were claiming.