Hamilton suggests Ferrari need to ‘address’ priority rules

Ferrari’s Lewis Hamilton has suggested the Scuderia need to ‘address’ rules of engagement between himself and teammate Charles Leclerc, following a less-than-optimal Italian Grand Prix.

Feature image credit: Pirelli

Ferrari had a weekend to forget at their home race, at the Italian Temple of Speed, Monza, after Hamilton finished the Italian GP down in sixth, two positions down from where he started.

However, this was not helped by his opening lap tussle with, teammate, Charles Leclerc.

Hamilton managed to get down the inside of Leclerc at turn one and the pair wound their way through the opening chicane. As they track turned left, Leclerc understeered across the track and left Hamilton no room, forcing the seven-time world champion onto the track edge and onto the gravel.

Despite starting from fourth, the #44 Ferrari dropped to 10th overall in the opening lap.

This was quickly worsened for the iconic red-squad after Leclerc lost control of his car on lap two, at the final corner, skipping across the gravel and into the barrier, retiring on the spot due to significant damage.

Speaking to Sky Sports, Hamilton said:

“I think it comes down to rules of engagement. When I was at Mercedes, we had written rules of engagement.

“We never really, really had it too bad. There was a moment between me and Nico [Rosberg] a couple of times, but more often not, it was good.

“Here, there are no rules. We need to address that.”

Monza Magic: Antonelli Takes Victory On Home Soil!

As a result of Kimi Antonelli’s stunning victory from 19th on the grid for Mercedes, the furthest victory ever at Monza in F1 history, it means Hamilton – who had been 59 points adrift of the Italian – now sits 76 points adrift of Antonelli’s lead.

George Russell completed a Mercedes 1-2 for the Silver Arrows in Monza, losing only a slight amount of ground in the title fight and now sits 66 points away from his championship-leading teammate.

After Hamilton’s eight-point haul from Monza, it means the seven-time world champion now sits 10 points away from his former teammate, Russell, in the drivers standings, maintaining his third place position.

Despite this, Hamilton claims, in his words to Sky Sports that the team ‘are too far’ past prioritising drivers to strengthen their title bids, and believes the drivers are ‘out ahead’ of them. He continued:

“We are too far past that already. It’s too late for that now. I lost a lot of points today to those guys. We will do our best to keep pushing the rest of the season but they are out now, out ahead of us.”

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Kamron Kent

Hi, I’m Kamron. I created ApexMotorsports.co.uk in the dying embers of the 2021 Formula 1 world championship. It allowed me freedom to write whatever I wanted to write about which was all things motorsports, my passion.

I have put a lot of effort in over the years to keep this website in its best shape and I’ve loved seeing the brand grow consistently, month-on-month, year-on-year. My ambition is to keep watching this brand grow into a primary outlet of news for all things motorsports whilst fueling my desire to pursue a career in sports journalism, specialising in motorsports.

Kamron Kent

Hi, I'm Kamron. I created ApexMotorsports.co.uk in the dying embers of the 2021 Formula 1 world championship. It allowed me freedom to write whatever I wanted to write about which was all things motorsports, my passion. I have put a lot of effort in over the years to keep this website in its best shape and I've loved seeing the brand grow consistently, month-on-month, year-on-year. My ambition is to keep watching this brand grow into a primary outlet of news for all things motorsports whilst fueling my desire to pursue a career in sports journalism, specialising in motorsports.