Lewis Hamilton believes Ferrari’s hesitation in moving Charles Leclerc aside at Zandvoort cost him a place on the podium at the Dutch Grand Prix, after finishing fourth — 0.849 seconds behind George Russell’s Mercedes — in a race won by Lando Norris.
Hamilton, running an offset strategy on hard tyres, passed Oscar Piastri for fifth on lap 35 and immediately closed on his team-mate, who was struggling on older mediums. Ferrari did not act. Over the next several laps Hamilton shed more than two seconds to Russell ahead, and when the pit call finally came, Leclerc did not take it at the first time of asking.
“Great way of wasting time guys, good job,” Hamilton said over the radio, the sarcasm audible. He crossed the line 16.755s behind Norris, with Leclerc fifth, a further half-second back. Ferrari left the Netherlands without a podium for a race that had, briefly, offered them one.
Two laps that settled fourth place
The sequence is not in dispute. Race engineer Bryan Bozzi called Leclerc in on lap 41 — “Box, Charles, box” — and Leclerc queried the timing, unwilling to pit two laps after Russell and lose the tyre offset he was building. Ferrari had wanted him to stop “opposite” the Mercedes; when Russell came in, Leclerc stayed out. A second instruction followed on lap 42, “Charles, we want to box”, and the Monegasque finally pitted on lap 43.
By then the damage was done. Hamilton, the faster car of the two at that point in the stint, had spent the intervening laps in dirty air behind a Ferrari he could not pass and was not being told to pass.
“The time was lost when I was behind Charles, which ultimately meant I had a bigger distance to cover to try and catch up with George at the end,” Hamilton said.
He got closer than the gap suggests. Two virtual safety car periods — the first for Esteban Ocon stopping on track, the second for debris from a Williams contact on lap 70 — bunched the field and handed him a final look at Russell. “It felt like it was the closest opportunity I had,” Hamilton said, before conceding: “I don’t know whether or not we would have got by because the Mercedes is just so quick.”
Team principal Fred Vasseur accepted Ferrari had not covered themselves in glory. “We probably could have done better, but it was also difficult to explain the situation to Lewis over the radio without giving away our plan to the opposition, and that led us to this decision,” he said. Leclerc, for his part, said the early stop was “very surprising” and that he had wanted to extend the stint to build an advantage over Russell.
The Mercedes comparison that stung
What sharpened Hamilton’s frustration was watching his former team do the opposite thing on the same afternoon. With seven laps to run, Mercedes told Russell to move aside for Kimi Antonelli, who had the fresher rubber and a live chance of attacking Norris. Russell complied at once, surrendering second place. Antonelli finished there, 11.536s off the win.
“I want to win. I’m here to win, and it is difficult when you’re looking ahead and you see the two Mercedes drivers, they get the call and it’s done,” Hamilton said. “They let Kimi by and let him get on with the race. I was on a different strategy. It’s not the same here, and that’s a little bit difficult, but we just have to take it.”
The subtext is a familiar one at Maranello. Ferrari’s reluctance to impose a hierarchy between two drivers who both believe they are the number one has been a recurring theme of Hamilton’s second season in red, and Zandvoort gave it a scoreline.
Where this leaves Ferrari
The championship maths explains why Ferrari were reluctant to choose. Hamilton and Russell leave the Netherlands level on 183 points, with Antonelli commanding the standings on 242 and Norris on 159 after a second consecutive win from pole, set with a 1:11.163. Mercedes lead the constructors’ championship on 425 to Ferrari’s 338, McLaren third on 263.
Hamilton is 59 points adrift of Antonelli and 28 clear of Leclerc — close enough that Ferrari can argue neither driver has earned priority, far enough that indecision costs them points in the constructors’ fight they can realistically still influence.
- Race won by Norris, from Antonelli (+11.536s) and Russell (+15.906s)
- Hamilton fourth (+16.755s), Leclerc fifth (+17.258s)
- Max Verstappen crashed out at the banked final corner on the damp opening lap, bringing a red flag
It was the last Dutch Grand Prix on the current calendar, and Zandvoort’s send-off produced exactly the argument Ferrari have spent two seasons avoiding. Vasseur must now settle it before the next one costs more than 0.849 seconds.
Sports journalist and editor at SportsPortal.net. Covers cricket, football, Formula 1, tennis, and basketball with a focus on how global sports connect with Pakistani audiences. Follows the PSL, Pakistan national cricket team, Premier League, and major international tournaments. Has reported on sports for digital audiences since 2021.
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