Hamilton threatens to ignore Ferrari strategy calls – Lewis Hamilton’s best hope of a win in his inaugural season driving for the iconic Formula One team Ferrari, comes this weekend at Silverstone. Its a circuit where he has excelled during his career, claiming a nine victories at the Northamptonshire track, an all time record at any venue where F1 has raced.
His Ferrari SF-25 received a number of upgrades in Austria and with Max Verstappen taken out of the Grand Prix on lap one, the Ferrari duo cruised to a 3-4 finish a long way ahead of George Russell in fifth place.
As the huge new car design regulation change hurtles towards the F1 teams for 2026, the expectations were that the majority would switch their focus from upgrading this year’s cars to designing those for next year come this time in the season. Yet Ferrari with their new pull rod front suspension now intend to continue to bring upgrades to many of the components which create mechanical grip as there is a crossover there with the 2026 car regulations.
Hamilton influence diminished
Despite being almost across the line in terms of the constructors’ championship, Lando Norris revealed at the FIA press conference for the British Grand Prix that McLaren would also continue to upgrade their MCL39, again in terms of areas where mechanical grip can be improved.
The latest Ferrari new components in Austria clearly improved the tyre management of the SF-24 yet with the modern ground effect cars it can take a weekend or so to fully optimise the new setup required around the upgrades. So Silverstone and the inclement weather conditions in England may well be Lewis best hope of a race win this year.
However, theres a problem for the seven times champion and its rooted in the fact he isn longer with Mercedes with whom he created the most successful driver/team partnership in the history of F1. At Ferrari his influence is diminished merely by the lack of history together and also because he is being beaten week in and out by his team mate in qualifying and the race.
Hamilton with all his experience knows to get the better of Charles Leclerc, he must do something different from the established Ferrari driver. Further, unlike during his time at Mercedes, Ferrari are making the strategy calls regardless of their driver’s opinion. Of course there is an optimum theoretical strategy before and during a Grand Prix but Hamilton is used to being able to influence a change in the plans as the race evolves.
Ferrari ignore Hamilton’s strategy input
In Austria with Leclerc starting in P2 and Hamilton P4, Ferrari decided to pit both their drivers on the same medium tyres at the start. As the McLarens cruised off into the distance Hamilton was left to trail around behind his team mate and come the first round of pit stops. Both drivers were called in around lap 20 to fit a set of hard tyres.
Hamilton remained unable to close the gap to his team mate and as he has done many times in his career to fight a potential ‘losing’ situation, asked the team for a different strategy for his final stint. With Leclerc having fitted a final set of medium tyres, Hamilton was instructed to come in the following lap to do the same.
The short exchange over team radio was enlightening, as the seven times world champion was in effect told to shut up and put up. His race engineer Riccardo Adami has cone in for some criticism this season, for dithering in terms of proving Hamilton with the information he requires. Here its like there’s been a personality transformation as he sounds unsympathetic to lewis’ request.
Lewis Hamilton: My tyres are okay. Can I extend? How many more laps left?
Riccardo Adami: And box, 20 laps.
Lewis Hamilton: I don’t want to stop.
Riccardo Adami: Box, box.
Asleep at the wheel. F1 Race control under fire again
Lewis publicly critical of Ferrari
Treated like the naughty schoolboy being called into the headmasters office, Hamilton duly obliged as his ruse to finally beat his team mate was foiled. With Russell almost a lap down from the leaders, there was no risk in the Hamilton strategy call. Yet Ferrari refused his ‘Hail Mary’ attempt to make something happen, as they care little which order their drivers actually finish in.
Lewis was unhappy with the way the issue was handled, speaking in Austria he claimed is was something he would need to sit down and discuss with the team. Clearly there matter has not been resolved given his opening interviews in Silverstone a week later, reflect a similar sentiment.
“Even just an hour ago, I brought it up but I also mentioned it after the race and we’ve had time to reflect on it,” Hamilton told the assembled media on Thursday. “I think the team’s best view was, I think, they just wanted to make sure they secured third and fourth, which is totally fine.”
Hamilton then revealed he was forced to threaten Ferrari, where he will make his own strategy calls rather than obey instructions from the team. “I said, ‘look, I’m not here to start fourth and finish fourth. I’m racing for every little bit that we can gain.’ In a scenario like that, for example, both of us were on the same strategy, they had us on the exact same strategy. I think we went both medium, hard, medium.”
Hamilton threatens to ignore Ferrari orders
Lewis went on to reveal he would have preferred a different strategy of medium, medium, hard but he was ignored and that for Ferrari as a team a split strategy covers more eventualities. “They said, ‘yeah, we would have got overtaken by Charles towards the end.’ But I said: ‘well, there could have been a Safety Car, and in that point there was no risk in taking the gamble.’
“I said: ‘I don’t want to get to a point where I’m ignoring you.’ So what we’re doing is working on our communication. And we’re still getting to know each other, how we like to operate. And that’s understood.”
For Hamilton to beat his team mate this weekend in Silverstone, he first needs to out qualify him for only this fourth time this year. Given the wealth of experience Lewis has at his home race then Hamilton needs to be given input into how the strategy is planned and unfolds.
Just as Ferrari is getting past its embarrassing radio calls, it seems Lewis Hamilton may throw a spanner in the works and defy them orders.
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The Formula One driver market is in a strange place at present, with two of the top four teams having locked down their driver pairing on multi-year contracts. Only Red Bull and Mercedes have yet to make decisions over their two drivers for 2026, although Max Verstappen is of course on a deal with his team that runs until 2028.
Much has been made of the fact that George Russell does not yet have a contract with Mercedes for next season and rightly so. Now in his fourth year with the team Russell is clearly showing the way to his rookie team mate, who has scored just over a quarter of Mercedes points so far this season.
Kimi Antonelli was billed as Mercedes answer to the young Max Verstappen, but as yet he has to show his true potential despite a podium finish in Canada. His kamikaze move into turn three in Austria which wiped out the world champion before a lap was completed, was a sharp reminder to all that the 18 year old Italian has a lot to learn… READ MORE
With over 30 years of experience in Formula 1 as an insider journalist, I have built trusted connections across the paddock, from race engineers and mechanics to senior team figures. At The Judge 13, I and a handful of trusted colleagues share exclusive Formula 1 news, expert analysis and behind-the-scenes stories you will not find in mainstream motorsport media.
