Lewis Hamilton Ferrari team orders fiasco tipped to 'tear the team apart'

Ralf Schumacher has suggested that Lewis Hamilton's relationship with his Ferrari team could 'tear the team apart'.

Hamilton suffered another difficult race weekend in Azerbaijan, finishing down in eighth having only managed to qualify 12th. He did, however, beat his team-mate Charles Leclerc, who finished ninth.

That wasn't without drama in itself, however. Having been let through by Leclerc for eighth due to being on fresher tires, 40-year-old Hamilton was chasing down the cars ahead of him, attempting to get past them.

When the Brit failed to do so, he was instructed to give the place back to Leclerc, but failed to slow down before the chequered flag.

Race engineer Riccardo Adami instructed Hamilton: "Let Charles by, he's one and a half [seconds] behind you.

"This is the last lap. And behind [him] is [Isack] Hadjar [by] two seconds, Charles 1.5 behind, let him by."

Following the team orders fiasco, Ferrari team principal Fred Vasseur also explained: "I think the situation was clear for us that Lewis had a tire advantage, and we asked Charles to let him go to try to overtake Lawson and Tsunoda or Norris.

"On top, Charles had the issue with the recovery, and we are not at the top on the engine, and that, I think, was the best option for us to do this move."

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Is Ferrari a divided team?

These comments from Adami and Vasseur drew the ire of Sky Sports Germany pundit Ralf Schumacher, who lamented the situation on the Backstage Pit Lane podcast.

Schumacher evidenced the above scenario as signs of a tense atmosphere at Ferrari, one which has not been improved by Hamilton, he believes.

"The way they interact with each other isn't good," he said. "Then there's Lewis' criticism of the team. I view the combination critically.

"Add to that the failure to swap positions with Leclerc before the finish line. Ferrari needs to sort things out internally, otherwise they'll tear themselves apart from the inside.

"A thunderstorm clears the air, that's a thing of the past. We simply need to talk openly with each other. The limits and expectations need to be defined.

"If Lewis no longer has trust in the team, and vice versa, that would be a great shame. Because if mistrust develops, then it's better to let it go and go our separate ways at the end of the year."

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