The Ferrari driver did not appreciate the lack of action from the pit wall of the Scuderia based in Maranello during a key strategic moment of the Australian Grand Prix.
An intense battle at the start of the race
The Australian Grand Prix began with a fierce and exciting battle between Charles Leclerc and George Russell, with Lewis Hamilton having a front-row view of the duel between his Ferrari teammate and the Mercedes driver.
The retirement caused by the power unit failure on the car of Isack Hadjar triggered a Virtual Safety Car period. Mercedes immediately took advantage of the situation, with the team deciding to bring both George Russell and Andrea Kimi Antonelli into the pits to complete their pit stops.
Ferrari, on the other hand, chose not to call either Charles Leclerc or Lewis Hamilton into the pits. This decision effectively meant accepting the risk of later losing track position, as the Scuderia would no longer have the opportunity to make the stop during a neutralized phase of the race.
Lewis Hamilton clearly did not appreciate the decision taken by the Ferrari pit wall and made his feelings known over the team radio. The seven-time Formula 1 world champion expressed his frustration with a direct message to the team.
“At least one of us should have stopped,” Lewis Hamilton said over the radio, suggesting that Ferrari could have at least split the strategies between the two drivers in order to maximize their chances in the race.
However, the strategists on the Ferrari pit wall decided not to differentiate the strategies between Charles Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton, opting instead to keep both drivers on the same plan during the early phase of the race.
Ferrari’s refusal to split their strategy in Melbourne has reignited the debate over the team’s tactical decisiveness, especially when compared to the ruthless efficiency shown by Mercedes under the VSC. While Charles Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton showed they have the pace to fight at the front, the Briton’s radio outburst suggests that internal pressure is already mounting on the Ferrari pit wall to match their drivers’ aggression with smarter calls from the garage.
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