Tension in the Ferrari garage has been under the spotlight after the Italian Grand Prix at Monza. Lewis Hamilton has spoken out, asking Ferrari's passionate fans, the tifosi, not to worry about his relationship with Charles Leclerc.
Starting from a promising third and fourth on the grid, Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc made contact at the Rettifilo chicane on the opening lap. The incident pushed Hamilton onto the gravel and dropped him to tenth, sparking debate over who was at fault. Shortly after, Leclerc's race ended dramatically with a 60g crash at Parabolica.
Hamilton ultimately finished sixth, far from expectations, after the team opted against a tyre change under a Virtual Safety Car (VSC) despite his complaints about fading Pirelli rubber. In post-race interviews, the 41-year-old stated, "I don't race dirty. I've always raced clean and fairly, and always left space, so I don't think they should be worried about me."
He added that he came into the team with respect and no intention of jeopardising it. "I've come into the team and tried to be respectful of space and definitely not put the team in jeopardy, and I stand by that. That's all I can talk about on my side. You have to speak to Fred [Vasseur] about the other side and decisions that we could have taken, but I'll keep pushing and trying to get more from the team and from our car and from the engineers," he explained.
Meanwhile, the straight-line performance of Mercedes left Hamilton powerless. Four of the five cars ahead of him used Mercedes power, including McLaren duo Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri. Hamilton was amazed by their speed. "On the straight, they were just pulling. We knew they were fast, but it was really mind-blowing how quick they were. That thing just keeps pulling, pulling, pulling," he said.
The incident between the two Ferrari drivers is a major point of evaluation. With a long season ahead, the big question now is how Vasseur will manage the internal dynamics to avoid further damage to their championship hopes.
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