Lewis Hamilton pushed back against the media exaggerating his radio interactions with his newcomer Ferrari race engineer during his first appearance with Scuderia in Australia, implying "much harsher" remarks by Max Verstappen went unnoticed.
During his challenging start at Ferrari in Melbourne, Hamilton faced difficulties as the team struggled with performance issues under both dry qualifying conditions and during a rain-interrupted race. Missteps in strategic decisions hindered both Hamilton and his teammate throughout the event. Charles Leclerc after securing positions above tenth and eighth place, respectively.
The seven-time world champion initially struggled with building rapport with his new race engineer, Riccardo Adami, which turned into a subject of discussion when snippets from their radio conversations were aired during television broadcasts. At first, Hamilton responded politely yet firmly to the Italian, asking him to “let me be for now,” urging less repetition in instructions, among other remarks that also found their way into the televised coverage.
When reviewing their complete conversation during the race, Hamilton and Adami were generally collaborating effectively for significant portions of the event.
According to Sky Sports F1 before this weekend's Chinese Grand Prix, Hamilton believed the media had blown things out of proportion regarding those interactions: "Of course, everybody exaggerated. It was simply just an exchange of words."
I maintained a courteous demeanor when I proposed it. I stated, 'Please let me handle this.' I wasn’t using profanity; I didn’t say ‘f**k you.’ I was genuinely having difficulty with the car at that moment and required complete concentration on these few tasks. We’re becoming acquainted with one another. It’s clear he has coached multiple champions before, yet we haven’t encountered any problems so far.
Lewis Hamilton, Ferrari
Photo credit: Simon Galloway / Motorsport Images
Hamilton argued that there might be double standards since he believed Verstappen’s intense communications with his race engineer Gianpiero Lambiase did not get similar attention.
He mentioned going to hear the radio communications with others and their engineers – it’s much worse," he stated. "Max’s conversations with an engineer over time involved significant mistreatment of the poor fellow, which goes unmentioned. Yet, you chose to document even the tiniest exchange I had with mine.
In essence, we’re really just starting to understand one another, so after some time, I might say something like: ‘Hey buddy, I don’t require that piece of info, but if you wish to share it, here’s where I’d prefer receiving it. Here’s how I feel during our drives; at certain moments, I may not need the details.’ It all comes down to that. Everything goes smoothly without any problems, accompanied by a smile, as we progress forward together.
Hamilton's argument holds weight, considering Verstappen faced significant criticism for his confrontation with Lambiase at last year's Hungarian Grand Prix.
When Verstappen had one of the toughest days of the season and became increasingly annoyed with his team’s ineffective strategy, he told Lambiase, “No way, stop giving me all this nonsense right now. You people came up with this ridiculous plan, alright? I’m just trying to salvage whatever is possible. For God’s sake.” They later resolved their differences the next week at the Spa-Francorchamps circuit.
Gianpiero Lambiase, Team Principal of Red Bull Racing, and Max Verstappen, who drives for Red Bull Racing,
Photo courtesy of: Red Bull Content Pool
Hamilton's new engineer, Adami, has formerly collaborated with notable figures such as Carlos Sainz and four-time world champion Sebastian Vettel , navigates a challenging balancing act as he and Hamilton adjust to one another's work styles.
On one side, Hamilton requires additional guidance and prompts as he accelerates into a new team environment that is quite distinct from what he’s accustomed to. Mercedes The duo will now focus on improving their communication strategies to better align with Hamilton.
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