Former Formula 1 driver Jolyon Palmer has criticised Ferrari and Lewis Hamilton, claiming they have failed to capitalise on Mercedes' rare vulnerabilities due to a string of "pretty sloppy" mistakes.
With six race wins in the first half of the season, Mercedes' Kimi Antonelli holds a 50-point lead over the seven-time champion in second, with 12 rounds remaining. Palmer insists Ferrari missed crucial opportunities to close that gap.
Speaking on the F1 Nation podcast, Palmer pointed to Antonelli's reliability issues at the British Grand Prix as a major opening that the Maranello squad wasted. "Ferrari have to just keep the pressure on and see what happens. But I'm a little bit disappointed in them in recent races because I think they've been given this chance with some reliability woes for Kimi," he explained.
Palmer detailed three costly errors: a jump start at Silverstone, an early pit limiter release in Hungary, and an impeding penalty in the same race. "Those three penalties may have cost them some points, but also a little bit of momentum and a little bit of that pressure on Kimi. So, they have to cut those out," he said.
Despite the criticism, Palmer praised Hamilton's driving. "He's driving brilliantly. The fact that he's even matching or ahead of Charles on pace a lot of the time shows what a great turnaround it's been. I think we are seeing some of the best that he's ever done," he added.
However, Palmer stressed these mistakes are not about skill. "It's kind of a lack of concentration, or attention in him and the race engineer. They've just let themselves down," he noted.
With the championship still open, Palmer urged Ferrari to eliminate these errors. "If Ferrari wants to win this championship, they have to cut those out," he concluded.
Baca Juga
Max Verstappen perpanjang kontrak Red Bull hingga 2030, mengakhiri spekulasi silly season F1 2026. Fans pun bercanda musim spekulasi berakhir.
Cadillac membantah rumor penjualan tim F1 menyusul investigasi federal terhadap pemilik TWG Global, Mark Walter. Manajemen menegaskan komitmen penuh pada proyek F1.
Cadillac F1 bantah dijual di tengah investigasi federal AS terhadap pemilik Mark Walter. TWG Motorsports tegaskan tak ada rencana penjualan tim.
Lanjutkan dengan Google
Diskusi & Komentar (0)
Mari Bergabung dalam Diskusi!
Masuk dengan mudah untuk mulai memberikan komentar, membalas, dan berinteraksi dengan pembaca lainnya.
Komentar Terbaru
Belum ada komentar. Jadilah yang pertama!