Charles Leclerc appeared to express his frustration towards Lewis Hamilton moments after Ferrari narrowly missed the Dutch Grand Prix podium, following a tense final-lap battle between the two team-mates at Zandvoort. The pair came close to making contact as Leclerc attempted to follow Hamilton through the fast middle sector after both drivers had switched to soft tyres during a late Virtual Safety Car.
Hamilton was running ahead and chasing George Russell for third place when the race returned to green. After the seven-time world champion failed to complete his final attack on the Mercedes driver, Leclerc closed onto the rear of the sister Ferrari and tried to maintain the pressure through Zandvoort’s high-speed sequence. Hamilton covered the position, forcing the Monegasque driver to come off the throttle as the available space disappeared.
Charles Leclerc appears to react to Lewis Hamilton after the finish
Shortly after taking the chequered flag, Leclerc appeared to look across towards Hamilton and shake his head. The moment was not shown on the international television feed but subsequently circulated on social media, adding another talking point to an already frustrating afternoon for Ferrari.
Exactly what prompted the gesture remains uncertain. It may simply have reflected Leclerc’s disappointment with how the Dutch Grand Prix had unfolded, although it is also possible that he was unhappy with the way Hamilton defended during their late battle. The stewards did not investigate the incident, and an intervention was always unlikely given the nature of the move.
Zandvoort offered few straightforward overtaking opportunities throughout the race, with most successful passes taking place into Turn 1. That made the final-lap fight between the Ferraris especially difficult once the pair reached the faster and narrower middle section of the circuit.
Ferrari strategy put Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc on different paths
The tension at the finish was the final chapter of an intra-team battle that had developed over several stints. Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc had started alongside each other on the third row, with Leclerc moving ahead at the start before Ferrari split their strategic approaches.
Hamilton ran longer during each of his first two stints, creating a tyre offset relative to his team-mate. That approach eventually allowed the British driver to close rapidly on Leclerc before the Monegasque made his penultimate pit stop.
At that stage, Hamilton believed his fresher tyres gave him a clear pace advantage and requested that Ferrari swap the two cars. The Scuderia elected not to intervene with a team order, leaving the seven-time world champion behind for several laps despite his stronger pace. The situation was another example of the delicate decisions Ferrari faces when managing its two drivers, an issue that had already become increasingly important in the wider Ferrari team-orders discussion involving Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc.
Virtual Safety Car changes Ferrari’s battle for the podium
The decisive moment in the intra-team contest arrived when Esteban Ocon stopped and triggered a Virtual Safety Car. Hamilton held track position at that point, changing the order between the two Ferraris and placing him in the stronger position for the closing phase.
Ferrari later brought both cars into the pits under another Virtual Safety Car and fitted soft tyres, setting up a final attack on George Russell. Hamilton emerged as the first Ferrari in the queue and immediately focused on taking third place from the Mercedes driver, with Leclerc following close behind.
The attempt ultimately came to nothing. Hamilton could not find a way past Russell, while Leclerc then closed on his team-mate as the Ferraris raced towards the finish. The closing laps completed a frustrating afternoon in which Ferrari had been close enough to challenge for the podium but could not convert its opportunities. A broader analysis of Ferrari’s Dutch Grand Prix strategy also highlights how the race repeatedly shifted through tyre choices and Virtual Safety Car timing.
Hamilton left counting the cost of time lost behind Leclerc
For Hamilton, the earlier decision not to swap positions became particularly significant once he finished just short of the podium. Having spent several laps behind Leclerc despite the benefit of fresher tyres, the Briton was left to consider whether that lost time might have changed his eventual fight with Russell.
Leclerc, meanwhile, ended the afternoon immediately behind his team-mate after initially gaining the advantage at the start. His apparent head shake after the finish provided a striking final image from a race in which both sides of the Ferrari garage had reasons to feel opportunities had been missed.
The incident itself did not lead to any action from the stewards, but the sequence reinforced how fine the margins had become between Ferrari’s two drivers. With strategy, track position and tyre offsets repeatedly bringing Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc into the same fight, managing their respective races cleanly remains an important challenge for the Scuderia. More updates on the Monegasque driver are available in the dedicated Charles Leclerc section.
