AUGUST 25, 2026

Hamilton apologises after Ferrari strategy criticism

Lewis Hamilton has taken responsibility for his angry Dutch Grand Prix comments, without withdrawing the concerns that prompted them.

Lewis Hamilton has apologised for the way he criticised Ferrari during and after the Dutch Grand Prix, although the underlying strategic questions have not disappeared with the apology.

After listening again to his radio messages and television interviews, Hamilton said the comments were not the best version of me. He added: I take responsibility for that, and I'll be better.

It was a public attempt to lower the temperature after a race in which Ferrari had a realistic chance of reaching the podium but finished fourth and fifth.

Hamilton's frustration began when he caught Charles Leclerc while running on a different strategy. He believed he had more pace, but Ferrari did not immediately exchange the positions. Leclerc eventually stopped, although a lap later than the team had originally intended, releasing Hamilton after valuable time had already been lost.

The second disagreement came when Ferrari kept Hamilton on his hard tyres as Lando Norris and Kimi Antonelli closed rapidly on fresher rubber. Unaware of the team's full intention, Hamilton asked whether he was being used as a guinea pig. A later Virtual Safety Car finally gave Ferrari the opportunity to bring him in.

Hamilton recovered to chase George Russell for third but could not take the final podium position. The comparison with Mercedes was difficult to miss: the Brackley team had quickly instructed Russell to release Antonelli after putting its championship leader on new tyres.

Ferrari team principal Frederic Vasseur explained that the team did not want to reveal its plan over the radio while trying to extend Hamilton's stint. He also accepted that the execution had not been good enough.

Thus the apology should not be confused with a claim that Ferrari handled everything correctly. Hamilton has withdrawn the heat, rather than the substance, from his criticism. The matter can now return to the engineering room, where Formula 1 arguments are generally more useful than they are on social media.

Sources: Formula 1 and Motorsport.com.