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Hamilton reassured that his exchange with his Ferrari teammates was merely a mark of them trying to understand each other and develop a familiarity.
Ferrari’s Lewis Hamilton (X)
Lewis Hamilton cleared the air about his heated exchange with Ferrari race engineer Riccardo Adami during the Australian Grand Prix and pointed out the unfair treatment meted out by the media towards him regarding such controversies.
The seven-time world champion qualified eighth and finished 10th at the season-opening Australian Grand Prix with his new team, Ferrari.
But, what caught the attention of many, apart from his far-from-stellar debut for Ferrari, was his heated exchanges with Adami, which sparked a debate over the mistreatment of his teammates.
But Hamilton came out to clear the air, reflecting on the nature of the conversation and how it takes time to establish a relationship with new teammates.
“Naturally, everyone overegged, it was literally just a back and forth. I was very polite with how I suggested it. I said, ‘Leave it to me, please’. I wasn’t saying ‘F you’. I wasn’t swearing. It was just at that point I was really struggling with the car, and I needed full focus on these couple things,” Hamilton told media ahead of the Chinese GP.
“We’re getting to know each other. He’s obviously had two champions or more in the past, and there’s no issues between us at all.”
The Brit then brought into context how other racers such as reigning champion Max Verstappen communicate with their team on the radio during racing and brought into question why the Dutchman rarely faces backlash for the same when Hamilton does.
“Go and listen to the radio calls with others and their engineers – far worse! The relative conversation that Max has with his engineer over the years, the abuse that poor guy’s taken! And you never write about it, but you write about the smallest little discussion I have with mine.”
Hamilton reassured that his exchange with his Ferrari teammates was merely a mark of them trying to understand each other and develop familiarity.
“Ultimately we’re literally just getting to know each other…that’s what it’s about. There’s no issues, and it’s done with a smiley face, and we move forward,” Hamilton said at the Shanghai International Circuit, where he has won on a record six occasions.
Hamilton conceded it had been a poor weekend for Ferrari in Melbourne, where the team strategists gambled and lost on leaving him out on slick tires when he was leading as rain returned.
Teammate Charles Leclerc was eighth, meaning Ferrari’s dismal five points from the race was their worst season-opening performance since 2009.
“It is what it is. One small thing could have made a big difference in our result, but yeah, we move forward,” said Hamilton.
But, he also cautioned others to not write off the Ferrari racers.
“It has only been one race. Yes, McLaren has done a great job and they’re looking very strong.
“We’re still just taking the time to learn the car and to be able to extract more from it.
“We definitely have work to do, I don’t think we’re on the pace of the McLarens, but I think we can close the gap.”