Ferrari 'doesn't give the impression of a top team anymore' says Doornbos

The Miami Grand Prix proved to be one to quickly forget for the Scuderia, unable to challenge McLaren, Mercedes, and Red Bull at the front of the grid as Charles Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton finished in P7 and P8, respectively.

They also faced internal tensions with multiple team orders. Hamilton was faster than Leclerc in the mid-section of the race and requested over the radio to be allowed to pass, with permission eventually granted after some hesitation.

However, the Brit was unable to gain a significant lead, and Leclerc was instructed to reclaim his position. That too ended up being chaotic, and the confusion and mutual irritation were clearly audible in the communication between drivers and team.

"When you're communicating with each other and operating as a team, you immediately tell Lewis to go. But they just took too many laps," Doornbos explained on Ziggo Sport's Race Café.

"That also has a bit to do with what I saw in Jeddah—you just don't see a cohesive team. There are three languages being spoken: Italian among the mechanics, French between the team principal and Leclerc, and then Lewis communicating in English. It doesn't give the impression of a top team," continued the Dutchman.

As a result of yet another disappointing weekend, Leclerc now sits 40 points behind George Russell in the drivers' championship, confining him to P5 with 53 points, while Hamilton is languishing with 41 points in P8. In the constructors' standings, 94 points for Ferrari mean they are P4, 11 points behind Red Bull in P3.

"At Red Bull Racing, for example, you see all these sharp-looking guys with shaved heads, and at McLaren, they all look fit too, but at Ferrari, you've got people behind the pit wall smoking a cigarette. It just doesn't come across as a top team," Doornbos concluded.