Ferrari Blames Lewis Hamilton’s ‘Misjudgement’ for Charles Leclerc Switch Row at Azerbaijan GP

Fred Vasseur lambasted Lewis Hamilton and his misjudgment while trying to give the position back to Charles Leclerc in Baku.

Ferrari Blames Lewis Hamilton’s ‘Misjudgement’ for Charles Leclerc Switch Row at Azerbaijan GP

Lewis Hamilton, Fred Vasseur and Charles Leclerc (via Getty)

🔍 Explore this post with:

ChatGPTPerplexityGrok AIGoogle AI

Ferrari suffered from yet another woeful outing at the Azerbaijan GP. Both Charles Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton had no chances of contending for a podium finish, let alone a race win. Leclerc and Hamilton finished in P9 and P8, respectively, and ended their day on a disappointing note. Moreover, the two drivers suffered from a late race driver swap drama as the Monegasque seemed to be on the losing end.

Charles Leclerc was asked to give the P8 position to Lewis Hamilton in hopes that the latter could fight with the pack ahead for a better finish. However, Hamilton was unable to do so and was asked to give back the position to Leclerc. The Briton could not do so, claiming that the call to swap came too late and he was zoned out in the final corners of the race. The Monegasque wasn’t too impressed by this and had some strong words to speak on the matter.

Now, Team Principal Fred Vasseur has weighed in on the matter and revealed the underlying reason behind the failed driver swap at the Azerbaijan GP. Vasseur insisted that the situation was clear from Ferrari’s side, as Lewis Hamilton had better tires and hence Charles Leclerc was asked to cede positions. Hamilton had to fight on the track and potentially fight with Lando Norris and others ahead of him for a better finish.

I think the situation was clear for us that Lewis had a tire advantage and we asked Charles to let him go to try to overtake Lawson and Tsunoda or Norris.

Fred Vasseur said, as reported by motorsport.com

Fred Vasseur recalled that the team asked to swap back positions when they believed that it wouldn’t be possible for Lewis Hamilton to fight for a better finish on track. Vasseur emphasized that Hamilton misjudged his position on the finish line and hence failed to give back the position to Leclerc. Regardless of the fiasco, Leclerc wasn’t too impressed with the team’s race pace, and a P8 or P9 finish was nothing to boast about.

We asked to swap back and it looks like Lewis had a misjudgment on the position of the start and finish line.

Fred Vasseur added

Lewis Hamilton admits not being ‘100% committed’ at Ferrari

Lewis Hamilton joined Ferrari with great hopes of contending for his record-breaking eighth driver’s title in Formula 1. However, the 2025 season has been nothing but a massive disappointment for Hamilton. Speaking on the problematic pace of the SF-25 challenger, the Briton insisted that there were still some improvements needed in the car to help him achieve the maximum level of aggressiveness.

Lewis Hamilton (via Reuters)
Lewis Hamilton (via Reuters)

Hamilton continued that the car had been very snappy, as this meant that he wasn’t 100% committed and confident in terms of braking. While heading into corners that require late braking, the Briton was unable to do so. However, the 40-year-old emphasized that he was still somewhat confident at the Italian GP, but the Baku race was completely different from the Monza race.

I think there’s still some improvements to make in terms of how aggressive I can be. The car has been quite snappy, so I’m still not 100% committed and confident on the braking when I’m attacking on the brakes. In the last race I was, but in this race, I didn’t feel so much, with the setup that we ended up having.

Lewis Hamiton said, as reported by adamcooperonf1

Ferrari has already lost their P2 position in the constructors’ championship spot to Mercedes after the woes of the recent races. Moreover, the team is under constant threat from Red Bull and Max Verstappen to lose the P3 spot as well. As such, Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc must maximize performance and hope to hold onto their current positions in the pecking order.

Read More: Lando Norris Hits out at Max Verstappen and Red Bull’s ‘Underdog’ Label After Dutchman’s Azerbaijan GP win