Hamilton says Ferrari strategy denied him Dutch GP podium
Lewis Hamilton accused Ferrari of sluggish strategy after finishing fourth at the Dutch Grand Prix on August 23, 2026, and warned the team must improve if he is to stay in the world championship fight. McLaren’s Lando Norris won the race, with Mercedes drivers Kimi Antonelli second and George Russell third.
Hamilton told Ferrari they needed to lift their performance and compared their timing unfavourably with the swift interventions he has seen from his former team, Mercedes. He was on a different tyre strategy and, the team said, was faster than teammate Charles Leclerc during the race.
When Ferrari eventually called Leclerc into the pits, Hamilton offered an unusually blunt rebuke, saying, “Great way of wasting time, good job,” and suggested an earlier stop for Leclerc might have given him a chance at the podium. He argued those lost seconds behind Leclerc were decisive in his finishing position.
“I think what’s clear is I’m looking ahead and seeing Mercedes execute like that,” Hamilton said. “They’ve got the car, they’re fighting for the championship, in the lead and they did it straight away. Here, I’m sitting back, losing seconds. It’s something that we need to discuss offline.”
Hamilton described the day as frustrating and stressed the importance of every point as the title battle continues. “Today was definitely frustrating for me,” he added. “I’m here to win and I really believe that this team can win. To win championships you have to pick up every point. The last few races have been difficult with penalties and today I lost several seconds behind Charles which I think ultimately would have made the difference at the end. “My goal is to try and lead this team to the championship and we’ve got some work to do for sure.”
Mercedes’ handling of a late-race position swap drew scrutiny, but Russell accepted his team’s decision as correct given the differing strategies. “We’ve always said as a team, when we’re on different strategies, we’re never going to fight, that’s always just been our sort of rules,” he said. “Kimi was ahead of me anyway, so he deserved to finish ahead. When you’re in the race, you want to fight for every single position but with the pace, with a new tyre, he would have overtaken anyway. So it’s the right decision.” Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff defended the call: “Team orders are always harsh from one drivers’ perspective but it is what we always discussed,” the Mercedes team principal said. “We are not losing time with each other if there are competitors breathing down our neck. Today wasn’t a difficult call.”
Antonelli’s second-place finish extended his lead in the standings, leaving Russell and Hamilton 59 points behind the Italian.