Lewis Hamilton was in no mood to blame bad luck after finishing fourth in the Dutch Grand Prix, responding sharply to race engineer Carlo Santi after the chequered flag and arguing that Ferrari had already lost the time that ultimately cost him a podium. The seven-time world champion believed the decisive damage had been done earlier, when he became stuck behind Charles Leclerc while pursuing an alternative one-stop strategy at Zandvoort.
Hamilton started fifth and needed to try something different if he was going to challenge for the podium. Ferrari’s gamble centred on a one-stop strategy, made possible by the British driver’s excellent management of the Soft tyre during the opening stint. The approach was beginning to work, but the situation became complicated when Hamilton caught Charles Leclerc and George Russell, both of whom were expected to make a second stop relatively soon.
Lewis Hamilton frustrated as Ferrari loses valuable time
From Hamilton’s perspective, the critical moment came when he found himself running behind his team-mate. Charles Leclerc remained ahead of the number 44 car, which was understandable from the Monegasque driver’s point of view because Ferrari had not issued a team order instructing him to let Hamilton through.
The situation had already produced clear frustration from Lewis Hamilton over the Ferrari radio, with the Briton believing his tyre condition and pace meant the team was wasting valuable race time by keeping the cars in that order.
George Russell then stopped before Charles Leclerc, allowing the Mercedes driver to gain crucial seconds relative to both Ferraris. That sequence proved particularly costly for Hamilton because his alternative strategy depended on making the most of the clear-track pace and tyre life available to him.
A late Virtual Safety Car also worked against the seven-time world champion, and he eventually crossed the line in fourth place. However, when Ferrari suggested after the finish that fortune involving George Russell had played a part, Hamilton immediately rejected that interpretation.
Hamilton gives Carlo Santi a blunt response after Dutch GP P4
“Thanks Lewis, we were unlucky with George Russell,” race engineer Carlo Santi told him after the chequered flag.
Hamilton responded: “We weren’t unlucky, we lost time earlier and that cost us third place.”
The exchange summed up how differently Hamilton viewed the outcome. Rather than focusing on the circumstances later in the Grand Prix, he believed Ferrari had already surrendered the opportunity through the way the earlier strategic phase was managed.
The episode was part of a broader discussion surrounding Ferrari’s management of Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc at Zandvoort. With the margins between the leading cars so small, even a handful of seconds spent behind another car could significantly affect the final result.
Lewis Hamilton points to Mercedes team orders
The Briton repeated the same argument when speaking to reporters after the race. The Ferrari driver felt the Scuderia had thrown away a podium opportunity and suggested the team still had plenty to learn from Mercedes when it comes to managing situations involving two cars during a Grand Prix.
As an example, Lewis Hamilton highlighted how quickly Mercedes instructed George Russell to follow a team order in favour of Kimi Antonelli during the closing stages. The contrast clearly stood out to the former Mercedes driver after the time he had spent behind Charles Leclerc earlier in the race. The seven-time world champion subsequently made his concerns over Ferrari’s approach compared with Mercedes team orders clear.
There is also an important irony in that comparison. Earlier in the season at Barcelona, an unnecessary battle between the two Mercedes drivers helped create the circumstances that favoured Hamilton’s victory. At Zandvoort, however, the seven-time world champion found himself on the opposite side of the equation, watching Mercedes act decisively while Ferrari allowed its two cars to remain in their existing order.
Lewis Hamilton’s fourth place therefore carried more frustration than the finishing position alone might suggest. Ferrari’s one-stop gamble had given him a genuine route towards the podium, but the time lost during the traffic and strategy sequence prevented him from fully exploiting it. For Hamilton, the decisive factor was not simply the late Virtual Safety Car or bad fortune, but what the Scuderia had allowed to happen much earlier in the race.
