Lewis Hamilton claims to have had discussions with Ferrari about their strategy

Lewis Hamilton confirmed having spoken with Ferrari following a disagreement that occurred during the Austrian Grand Prix concerning race strategy.

Lewis Hamilton frustrated by Ferrari’s strategy

The seven-time world champion matched his best Grand Prix result of the season for Scuderia by finishing fourth in Spielberg, just behind his teammate Charles Leclerc.

However, Lewis Hamilton was visibly frustrated with the timing of his second pit stop. On the radio, he said, “I don’t want to stop.” But his request was not taken into account, and he eventually followed the team’s instructions.

Speaking to the press on the eve of the British Grand Prix, the Brit revealed he had discussed with Ferrari his desire to take more strategic risks.

When asked about the existence of discussions after the race in Austria, Lewis Hamilton replied: « Yes. Even just an hour ago, I brought the subject back to the table. »

I talked about it after the race, and since then, we’ve had time to think. I believe the team’s goal was to secure third and fourth place, which is understandable. But I’m not here to start fourth and finish fourth. I fight for every opportunity, every small gain.

Lewis Hamilton also criticized the fact that both Ferraris followed exactly the same strategy: medium tires, then hard, then medium again.

« I would have preferred to do medium, medium, hard to have an offset strategy at the end of the race. I never want to do the same thing as my teammate », he explains.

He also emphasized that, in the final stint, they were not threatened by the cars behind them. They told me that Charles would have overtaken me at the end. I replied that there could have been a safety car. At that moment, there was no risk in trying something.

« I also said that I don’t want to get to the point where I ignore the instructions. So we’re working on communication. We’re still learning to know each other, to understand our ways of functioning. It’s normal », he says.

Lewis Hamilton hopes for a bit of ‘magic’ at Silverstone

This weekend will mark Lewis Hamilton’s very first home Grand Prix since joining Ferrari.

Last year, he scored an emotional victory at Silverstone — his ninth on this circuit — thus ending a 945-day streak without a win.

But for the first time in his career, Lewis Hamilton has not yet managed to secure a podium finish in the first ten races of a season. When asked if he was hoping for a boost from the weather or a bit of magic at Silverstone, he replied: « I hope and pray, yes. There’s always magic at Silverstone. »

« I don’t even need to hope for that in the sense that the crowd is incredible. It’s a very special place that always offers a special race, one way or another. But I hope the weather, or other elements, can play in our favor, because we’re clearly not as fast as McLaren. If it’s dry all the way, they should dominate. »

Finally, he assured that he does not focus too much on statistics. It’s not something that affects me or that I have in mind. But obviously, it would be a great place to turn things around, and that’s what we’re working towards, he concluded.