Lewis Hamilton had a tense radio exchange with his race engineer after crashing his Ferrari into the barriers during Saturday’s final practice session for the Madrid Grand Prix.
Madrid’s unforgiving “Madring” circuit, already earning a reputation for damaging cars, claimed another casualty when Hamilton ran wide and struck the wall while appearing set to post the quickest lap before qualifying.
The impact inflicted significant damage on the front wing. Hamilton, a seven-time Formula 1 world champion, was instructed to abandon the Ferrari so a recovery vehicle could take it back to the garage.
Instead, the 41-year-old ignored the initial instruction, reversed away from the barriers and rejoined the circuit in an apparent attempt to bring the car back himself.
Despite repeated calls over the radio to “stop the car,” Hamilton continued with a punctured tyre before eventually bringing the damaged Ferrari to a halt.
The incident comes amid reported strain inside Ferrari, following a heated encounter between Hamilton and team-mate Charles Leclerc at last weekend’s Italian Grand Prix.
Hamilton was forced off the circuit by Leclerc during the early position battle through the second half of the opening chicane last Sunday, an incident that appeared to be the Monegasque driver’s fault. “Charles pushed me off,” Hamilton said over the radio.
Lewis Hamilton crashed his Ferrari in Madrid on Saturday before defying team instructions.
Leclerc then crashed moments later at Parabolica in a separate incident, also blamed on driver error, producing a heavy impact. Hamilton ultimately finished sixth, leaving Ferrari with a disappointing home-race result.
In a message to team principal Fred Vasseur, Hamilton said: “Here there are no rules. And that’s something that needs to change. When I was at Mercedes we had written rules of engagement. And we never had it too bad.”
‘There was a moment with me and Nico a couple of times. But more often than not, it was good. Here there are no rules.
But speaking ahead of the new home of the Spanish Grand Prix, Hamilton revealed he held crunch talks with his team-mate: ‘What is great is that there was no shying away from having a discussion. We sat face to face, just him (Charles) and me, and talked about it and we were both honest and open and then we quashed it and moved on.
READ MORE: Craig Conover on Dating After Paige Split as Thomas Ravenel Returns
‘That shows maturity from him and it is healthy. It is a relationship we have built over time.
‘Of course, there are going to be frustrations along the way. And there will be more times where we are close because we are approximate in pace and we both want to win as much as each other and do well for the team, but, yes, it is really positive.
‘It has been really positive. I spoke to Fred (Vasseur, Ferrari’s team principal) on Monday and we had clearing out discussions.
‘Naturally we are going to have different opinions, but we come together to find a way forward and that is the positive of where we have got to over the past 15 months, when we can have really great communication internally and same with me and Charles.
‘If you look at the history of the sport, this happened before, so it is no biggie.’
Hamilton was ordered to stop the car but refused, despite extensive damage to his front wing
Hamilton spoke after the race in Italy about needing rules of engagement. Have they been agreed?
‘No,’ he said. ‘Right now I am trying to focus on having a better weekend. I am sure at some stage we will discuss how we can be better but we have not had a lot of time. You can’t change things in two days.’
Hamilton’s deficit to Mercedes’ championship leader Kimi Antonelli stands at 76 points. It is a vertical fight for the Briton. Tough, but the target is not insurmountable.
Chasing a never-achieved eighth title, Hamilton said: ‘Mathematically it is not impossible, but it is the biggest gap I have seen in a long, long time, and at this stage of the year, too (with 10 rounds remaining).
‘Mercedes are the leaders, out ahead, and doing a fantastic job and we should just focus on doing our best each weekend.
‘My job at Ferrari is a long-term process and not something that will change this weekend. There are a huge amount of moving parts, a lot of people, and a culture that has been there for a long time. Moving pieces are not so easy. It doesn’t happen overnight. But we will get there.’