Lewis Hamilton hits out at lack of attention over Max Verstappen verbally ‘abusing’ race engineer GP on team radio

Lewis Hamilton downplayed his argument with Ricciardo Adami by resenting Max Verstappen's verbal abuses to his race engineer GP.

Lewis Hamilton hits out at lack of attention over Max Verstappen verbally ‘abusing’ race engineer GP on team radio

Lewis Hamilton (via Getty), Max Verstappen (via Red Bull)

Lewis Hamilton had a great rapport with his previous race engineer Peter ‘Bono’ Bonnington at Mercedes. However, the Briton was met with a completely new crew following his switch to Ferrari. This means he must also get acquainted with his current race engineer Ricciardo Adami. Surprisingly, Hamilton had a heated back-and-forth with Adami at the season opener in Australia. Now, the 40-year-old responds back to the backlash by vilifying Max Verstappen and his intense arguments with Gianpiero Lambiase (GP).

Max Verstappen and Gianpiero Lambiase have been working together since the former’s debut with Red Bull in 2016. The two share a great sense of respect despite Verstappen being extremely difficult to deal with at times. The Dutchman has had his fair share of moments lashing out at his race engineer during intense moments of the races. Lewis Hamilton reckoned that what he said to Ricciardo Adami in Australia was far better than what other drivers said to their engineers.

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Go and listen to the radio calls with others and their engineers – it’s far worse.

Lewis Hamilton told RacingNews365.com.

Hamilton lashed out at Verstappen and his conversations with GP over the past races. The 40-year-old did not hesitate to claim that Lambiase was “abused” by the Dutchman while people said and did nothing about it. On the contrary, the Briton strongly believed that people were quick to judge him and make a big deal out of very few problems on track. This meant that the seven-time champion was not regretful of his comments and firmly believed that it was necessary to explain the situation to Adami.

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The conversations that Max has had with his engineer over the years and the abuse that the poor guy has taken, and you never write about it, but you write about the smallest little discussion I have with mine.

Lewis Hamilton added.

Lewis Hamilton asserts everyone ‘over-egged’ the situation

Ricciardo Adami informed Lewis Hamilton about the different switches in the Ferrari challenger that were available during the changing weather at the Australian GP. Upon this, Hamilton asked his race engineer to keep quiet and let him handle it. The Briton had to repeat his words to his race engineer multiple times in a rather rude manner which caught everyone’s attention.

Lewis Hamilton (via Ferrari)
Lewis Hamilton in the Ferrari garage (via Scuderia Ferrari)

Regardless, Hamilton believed that the entire situation wasn’t as big as the people made it. The 40-year-old highlighted that the entire conversation was a simple back-and-forth with no ill intentions. Moreover, he insisted that he was polite in his words and wasn’t particularly ‘rude’. The seven-time champion made it clear that he did not swear to Adami at all during the intense moment.

Everyone over-egged [the situation], It was literally just a back-and-forth. I was very polite in how I suggested it. I said ‘leave it to me, please’. I wasn’t saying ‘F-you’, I wasn’t swearing.

Lewis Hamilton noted.

Lewis Hamilton downplays argument with Ricciardo Adami

Lewis Hamilton downplayed the intensity of his argument with Ricciardo Adami. The Briton emphasized that the driver-engineer duo was working together for the first time and just getting to know one another. Hamilton revealed that he explained the situation to Adami later and told him about his preferences on when and where to give the information about the challenger.

Lewis Hamilton (via Getty)
Lewis Hamilton (via Getty)

It seems that Hamilton addressed the issues immediately after the race to ensure such a heated moment does not come up again. The 40-year-old reiterated that there were no issues between the two and they had already moved on from the incident. Hence, the coming races might witness a better and more mature conversation between the two as they have made their preferences clear.

We’re literally just getting to know each other. Afterwards, I’m like, ‘Hey bro, I don’t need that bit of information. But if you want to give me this, this is the place I like to do it’. That’s what it’s about. There are no issues and it’s done with a smiley face, and we move forward.

Lewis Hamilton explained.

Ferrari’s performance in the Australian GP was disappointing, to say the least. As soon as the challenger starts to perform better, half the frustrations of the drivers in the cockpit are likely to settle down. The season has just begun and the Italian constructor has set their eyes on the prize. Hence, time will tell about how the Scuderia copes against the rival team’s ever-growing pace on the grid.