Ferrari’s Poor Radio Communication With Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc Flagged After Brazil GP

Veteran F1 journalists Piergiuseppe Donadoni and Paolo D’Alessandro have flagged Ferrari’s poor radio communication with Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc during the Brazilian Grand Prix. In a jointly written piece for Autoracer, the pair have questioned the Italian team’s communication tactics, claiming they come up short when compared to other teams in the paddock.

“The relationship between the pit wall and the drivers still lacks complete trust (at Ferrari). The communication, which could be described as almost robotic or pre-programmed, reveals clear shortcomings, especially when compared to the practices seen in the garages of their rivals.

“It appears that other top teams maintain clearer lines of communication, making it easier for their drivers to trust the team, as they receive more frequent updates from their race engineers,” they wrote.

During the final stages of the Brazilian GP, all drivers were lining up to pit once again for intermediate tires as the rain intensified. On Lap 61, Hamilton was asked to pit during the second half of the lap without any prior warning or communication about the worsening conditions. Meanwhile, he was also battling with Liam Lawson when the call came, and the Briton decided to ignore it.

Ultimately, Hamilton spun just before the final corner on slick tires and decided to pit on Lap 62. This resulted in him losing multiple positions as he finished the race in P9. The driver ultimately took responsibility for staying out, while he had questioned his team for giving the call too late initially.

Donadoni and D’Alessandro also noted that while Ferrari’s weather forecast was spot on in Sao Paulo, poor communication from the team and Hamilton’s error both contributed to the driver’s poor result.

Both Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc Ignored Ferrari Pit Wall During the Brazilian GP

Both Hamilton and teammate Leclerc ignored strategy calls from Ferrari during different stages of the Brazilian GP on Sunday. As already mentioned, Hamilton ignored a call to pit for intermediate tires on Lap 61. It remains unclear if this was due to him being caught off guard by the late call or because he wanted to carry on.

On top of this, Leclerc also ignored a call from the team earlier in the middle phase of the race. While on the soft tires, the Monegasque was asked to come in for fresh tires by Ferrari. He questioned why there was a need to do so and simply did not pit at that moment. The team eventually endorsed his decision given his quick lap times.

In the end, this turned out to be the right call, as the rain came down again and he pitted for intermediate tires on Lap 61.

Ferrari Urged to ‘Improve Radio Communication’ Following the Brazilian GP

Donadoni and D’Alessandro have noted that Ferrari ‘needs to improve its radio communication’ following a poor showing at the Brazilian GP. They claimed that the team’s current approach leaves its drivers feeling ‘hesitant.’

“It is clear that Ferrari needs to improve its radio communication. The current approach often leaves drivers feeling hesitant, which can easily lead to errors that have cost the Italian team valuable points.

“Simply calling a driver into the pits with a blunt “Box” during a chaotic and often unpredictable situation is clearly ineffective, as evidenced by the reactions from both Leclerc and Hamilton,” they wrote.

Donadoni and D’Alessandro again mentioned the lap when most drivers decided to pit for intermediate tires again in Interlagos, pointing out that the likes of Max Verstappen and Lando Norris were spoken to by their race engineers constantly. They were told about their lap times, tire choices of their rivals and the exact weather conditions at the time.

Meanwhile, at Ferrari, both drivers were simply told to pit with no other information provided on the same lap.

More F1 Reading

• ‘Shame for the Penalty’: Charles Leclerc Reacts After Late Setback at São Paulo GP
• ‘We Knew It Would Be a Tricky One’: Fred Vasseur Gets Honest About Ferrari’s Tyre Struggles at São Paulo GP
• Max Verstappen Would Have Been Told to Surrender Second Place to Hadjar at São Paulo Grand Prix, Mekies Confirms
• George Russell Owns His Bizarre Pit Exit Spin at Interlagos but Can’t Say What Caused It