Lewis Hamilton has voiced his displeasure with Ferrari's strategic decisions during the Dutch Grand Prix, stating the team must improve if he is to remain in the Formula One world championship battle. Hamilton, who finished fourth, felt he missed a podium opportunity due to the team's handling of teammate Charles Leclerc.
The British driver was critical of the delay in pitting Leclerc, especially when Hamilton was on a different, quicker tyre strategy. He contrasted this with Mercedes' decisive team orders, which saw George Russell move aside for Kimi Antonelli, who was on faster tyres in the final stages of the race.
Hamilton remarked, “Great way of wasting time, good job,” when Leclerc was eventually pitted. He added, “I’m looking ahead and seeing Mercedes execute like that. They’ve got the car, they’re fighting for the championship, in the lead and they did it straight away. Here, I’m sitting back, losing seconds. It’s something that we need to discuss offline.”
Despite Antonelli's second-place finish, he has extended his championship lead over Russell and Hamilton, with Hamilton now 59 points adrift. Hamilton emphasised the importance of every point, stating, “To win championships you have to pick up every point. The last few races have been difficult with penalties and today I lost several seconds behind Charles which I think ultimately would have made the difference at the end.”