Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc have come in for criticism from Ralf Schumacher, who urged Ferrari to “give them both a rap on the knuckles” for their attitudes during the Australian Grand Prix.
Both Ferrari cars struggled in the rain during Sunday’s race, with Ferrari opting to keep Hamilton out in the worsening conditions when most of the other cars pitted, and the seven-time champion subsequently lost the race lead when held up by a safety car and pitting afterwards.
The Brit eventually slipped to 10th and there was evident friction between him and his new race engineer, Riccardo Adami, with Hamilton repeatedly telling him to “leave me to it” and swearing over the radio when told of his drop down the rankings having had the chance to win on his debut for the Scuderia.
Schumacher was critical of what he described as Hamilton’s “stroppy” attitude and also objected to a sarcastic response by Leclerc to his race engineer Bryan Bozzi, with the Monegasque dryly referring to his comments as “words of wisdom” when the pair discussed a water leak. Leclerc eventually finished eighth on a forgettable outing for Ferrari.
Speaking on the German-language show Backstage in the Pit Lane, Schumacher urged team principal Fred Vasseur to discipline both drivers.
“It was like that with both of them,” the former driver said. “Not only Hamilton, but also Charles Leclerc was relatively stroppy on the radio.
“if I were the team principal right now, I’d call them both into my office and give them both a rap on the knuckles because that’s not on.
“At the end of the day, the whole team is sitting out there doing nothing but trying to help the two out there.
“And if they’re also being stroppy, then I have to say that’s not on. You can say, ‘please, right now is [a] bad [time to talk to me on the radio].’”
Hamilton was more measured speaking to media after the race, saying Adami “did his best” but admitted “we’re learning about each other bit by bit.
“After this, we’ll download, we’ll go through all the comments, things I said and vice versa. Generally, I’m not one that likes a lot of information in the race. Unless I need it, I’ll ask for it.”
