Ferrari accused of having ‘no discipline’ as pit wall ‘afraid’ to control Hamilton and Leclerc
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10:01, 08 Sep
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Kieran is a freelance Formula 1 journalist for GPblog, covering breaking news, live race blogs and feature content across the F1 calendar. An NQJ-qualified journalist with more than a decade of experience, he has previously written for publications including MailOnline, the Manchester Evening News and the Eastern Daily Press.
Ferrari have been accused of lacking discipline and being “afraid” to control Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc following their opening-lap clash at the Italian Grand Prix, according to Peter Windsor.
Hamilton and Leclerc started together on the second row at Monza, with both Ferrari drivers opting for the soft tyre. That gave them an early opportunity to attack George Russell and Pierre Gasly, who had started ahead on the medium compound.
However, the two Ferrari drivers instead found themselves fighting one another into the opening chicane. Hamilton challenged Leclerc on the inside before the pair made contact, forcing the seven-time world champion onto the dirt and costing him several positions.
Hamilton was furious with the incident and also called for rules of engagement between himself and Leclerc, making a comparison to his Mercedes days where there were strict rules.
Windsor, speaking in his post-race analysis, agreed with Hamilton, as he said: “It’s all a result of Ferrari not having the discipline that they should have, that we’ve talked about endlessly.
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“That’s arisen ever since you’ve got these two superstars in the cars and everybody on the pit wall at Ferrari is afraid to say to Lewis or to Charles, ‘This is what is going to happen at the first corner.’
“They just won’t do it. What we saw was a classic example of no discipline in the team. I think Charles felt bad about it. I think Lewis felt very upset about it."
Windsor believes Hamilton was pushed off by Leclerc
Windsor felt Leclerc was initially entitled to the racing line because he was marginally ahead as the pair entered the chicane. However, he also believed Hamilton was subsequently forced off the circuit by his teammate.
“As they go in, Lewis goes for the inside,” Windsor explained. “By the time they get to the apex of the first part of the right-hander, they’re sort of side by side, although you’d have to say in classic motor racing parlance that it was Charles’ line.
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“But then Lewis just stayed with it and came across on Charles, and Charles then started to use a bit more road. All of a sudden, Lewis had to go onto the dirt to avoid Charles and there was a bit of a bash. He lost three or four places as a result.
“Lewis, of course, was livid and felt he had been pushed off. He technically had been pushed off, and there’s no doubt about it.”
Leclerc initially recovered from the incident and moved into second place. But he quickly lost places to Pierre Gasly and Max Verstappen, before crashing heavy at the Parabolica, after defending his position from Oscar Piastri. Hamilton could only finish sixth and is now 76 points behind Kimi Antonelli in the standings.
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| Pos. | Driver | Team | Points |
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