F1 star Lewis Hamilton fumes at Dutch Grand Prix as Ferrari ruin their own strategy

An edit of a picture of Lewis Hamilton looking surprised — Photo: © IMAGO

Dutch Grand Prix

Lewis Hamilton fumes at Dutch Grand Prix as Ferrari ruin their own strategy

He could have been on the podium

Simmey Hannifin Donaldson F1 Editor

Motorsport journalist covering F1 since 2024

Sunday 23 August 2026 19:15

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A frustrated Lewis Hamilton aired his grievances with Ferrari over his team radio throughout the Dutch Grand Prix on Sunday as his bid to become an eight-time world champion was dealt a blow in Zandvoort.

Hamilton ultimately came home in fourth position in the Netherlands, finishing behind race winner Lando Norris, Kimi Antonelli and George Russell, who finished second and third respectively.

Russell has now moved ahead of Hamilton into second place in the standings, although they are tied on points, while Antonelli extended his lead over both to 59 points.

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Hamilton will argue (and is arguing) that he should have been on the podium, though. He finished just 0.849 seconds behind Russell, but had lost a lot of time earlier in the race when he got stuck behind his own teammate, Charles Leclerc.

F1 RESULTS: Full times, finishing positions and penalties from Dutch Grand Prix

Ferrari ruin their own strategy at Dutch Grand Prix

Hamilton had much fresher tyres than his teammate and had charged up to third position at the time, with Leclerc in second.

Naturally, Hamilton urged the team to get Leclerc out of his way, saying over the radio: "I'm quicker than Charles. Tyres are better."

In fairness to Ferrari, they told Leclerc to box that lap, but he refused, prompting an angrier message from Hamilton: "We are just losing time."

When Leclerc finally pitted on the next lap, Hamilton scorned his team: “Great way of wasting time guys, good job."

Further Hamilton frustration

Hamilton and Leclerc would eventually go on to almost crash on the final lap, but before that, there was more frustration from Hamilton towards the team in Zandvoort.

At one stage, the team were discussing strategy with Hamilton, telling him: “We are thinking something different. We are happy to go to a new medium.”

“It didn’t look great on Charles. Is it slower?" Hamilton replied. Ferrari responded: "Not sure."

That further exasperated Hamilton, who said: “You guys have got the data, so figure it out. Please.”

Hamilton also went on to question whether he was being used as a guinea pig after a virtual safety car (VSC) came out in the final stages: "Are you using me as a guinea pig or what? What's going on? How long will you have me stay out?"

At the end of the race, Ferrari told Hamilton he had done a good job and was unlucky not to pip Russell for the podium spot, but he didn't see it that way.

“We weren’t unlucky. We lost time earlier on and that cost us P3," he concluded.

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F1 Lewis Hamilton Ferrari Dutch Grand Prix