Red show
In the first three GPs of this season, much of the show on track was provided by the Ferraris: not fighting for the victory – which has always been the prerogative of the Mercedes – but fighting among themselves almost always for a place on the podium. In Australia and Japan, the challenge was won by Charles Leclerc, while in China it was Lewis Hamilton who prevailed, thus finally obtaining his first top-3 finish in a GP as a Ferrari driver.
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Many among pundits, insiders, but also simple fans have appreciated team principal Fred Vasseur’s choice to allow a free battle between the two Prancing Horse drivers, unlike what happened in past eras where the outcome of internal confrontations in the red garage was almost always predetermined by the pit wall. But could the team leadership, if they had wanted to, actually have given orders to the two drivers? Not according to Ralf Schumacher.
Ironclad contract
The former German driver, now a respected television commentator for Sky Germany, is in fact convinced that especially Lewis Hamilton has a sort of ban on team orders in his contract that would make team principal Vasseur’s role almost useless in situations like those that occurred in the first three races of the year.
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In an appearance on the podcast Backstage Boxengasse, Ralf Schumacher expressed his thoughts very clearly, destined to create great discussion: “Actually, I am of the opinion – although I will obviously receive a landslide of criticism for this again, but I don’t care – that although Lewis Hamilton is clearly back in the game this year, which I am very happy about, he will also have contracts that allow him to do exactly this”, Schumacher said.
“I imagine that even if Fred wanted to, he couldn’t say anything, because I believe Lewis Hamilton can decide for himself what he has to do. He will enjoy a certain status of ‘number one’. I can almost imagine it. That’s why Ferrari has no chance. He will decide for himself. But obviously this creates havoc in the team. It stirs the waters a bit. It should be managed a bit differently but I think it depends on the contractual situation and I also think – and this is actually the main problem – that you shouldn’t underestimate this kind of thing”, Ralf concluded.
