Lewis Hamilton in Ferrari blunder after late Azerbaijan GP result change call

Ferrari and Lewis Hamilton have once again been dealt a weekend to forget after scraping through to finish in the points at the Azerbaijan Grand Prix.

The seven-time champion was once a secure contender for podiums and race wins in F1 with McLaren and Mercedes, but since his move to Maranello at the start of the year, he has been forced to settle for points-scoring finishes whilst struggling at Ferrari.

Hamilton crossed the line P8 in Sunday's race at Baku, admitting: "I'm happy I moved forwards from 12th," after a tricky qualifying, in a rather sad reflection of his new reality.

But after the chequered flag had been waved in Baku, new onboards revealed that Hamilton had been asked to swap places with team-mate Charles Leclerc, but the champion failed to do so in a messy end to a forgettable weekend for the Scuderia.

Hamilton issues apology after failed Ferrari team order

After an uneventful race for the Italian team, Hamilton and Leclerc swapped positions on lap 43 of the 51 lap race.

This put the Brit in the best position to take on Lando Norris up ahead after proving he was the faster of the Scuderia’s driver duo on the mediums.

But after Hamilton failed to catch his fellow countryman, he was instructed via team radio to give the place back, with Riccardo Adami bluntly declaring: "Let Charles by, he’s one and a half [seconds] behind you...this is the last lap.

"Behind is Hadjar two seconds, Charles 1.5 behind, let him by."

However, it seemed the order was given to Hamilton too late with not enough track left for the 40-year-old to slow down in time to let the Monegasque star by.

Speaking on the blunder after the race, Hamilton said: "At the end I got the message really late on, and I was like zoned in on the car in front of me, even though there was like 0.0001 per cent chance of passing, I was still hopeful maybe."

"Basically I did lift on the straight, and did actually brake, but he missed it by like four tenths."

"That was just a misjudgment by myself. I'll apologise to Charles. At the end of the day that's eighth and ninth."

Leclerc didn't seem to hold anything against his team-mate after the confusion, adding: "I really don't care. For an eighth place, I don't think that this should be the talking point."

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