A fight lost from the start
Race weekends on the Ferrari radio frequencies are quite high tension and it couldn’t be otherwise given that behind the wheel of the SF-26 are two superstars like Lewis Hamilton and Charles. The Dutch GP was no exception, in fact, the Ferrari pit wall certainly did not receive praise from either the seven-time world champion or the Monegasque.
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An insider with years of experience like Peter Windsor, guest of the Cameron CC podcast, emphasized that the Ferrari pit wall has no hope of being ‘listened to’ by Leclerc and Hamilton.
“I’ve always said it, Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz made a great pair – Windsor’s words – Carlos is fast enough to win on the days when Charles has some problems. At the same time, however, he would never really step on Charles’ toes. It was a perfectly balanced pair. Now with Hamilton the situation is different. It’s not possible to manage the situation because Charles has his point of view and Lewis has his. Both obviously must be respected, and the poor engineers in the pits have no chance of managing the situation. The only one able to do it is Frederic Vasseur, but we never hear him speak over the radio“.
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“If you want to hire a Lewis Hamilton to replace a Carlos Sainz, you know there will be dramas and you know the situation we experienced at Zandvoort is destined to repeat itself – Windsor added – you need someone able to make a decision and that person must be someone both drivers respect and obey immediately. It can’t be one of the race engineers. It can’t even be a senior race engineer responsible for both cars. It has to be someone right at the top who says ‘this is how it’s going to be, period’. They are both megastars, each in their own way. Lewis is a seven-time world champion. Charles is the one who has never won a championship, but he is the biggest hero at Ferrari, in Italy and Monaco. Both have their influence and no one dares to tell them what to do. That’s why chaos reigns at Ferrari“.
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