Hamilton accused of 'sulking' at Ferrari as Corriere della Sera claims Vasseur sided with Leclerc
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09:30, 28 Sep
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Ben Hunt is an award-winning motorsport journalist with over two decades of experience in Formula 1 and international media. As a former editor-in-chief and bestselling author, he delivers in-depth analysis and strategic insight from the highest level of the sport.
Lewis Hamilton has been accused of 'sulking' at Ferrari in a column by Giorgio Terruzzi in Corriere della Sera. The Italian journalist claims that 'something is broken' at the Scuderia and that Hamilton's relationship with Fred Vasseur soured because he felt the team boss was too close to Charles Leclerc.
The column appeared after another hard weekend for Ferrari at the Azerbaijan Grand Prix. Mercedes' pace left Ferrari and the rest of the grid humiliated, and Leclerc and Hamilton could only finish P4 and P6 in the race respectively.
Hamilton started the second half of the season second in the standings and within reach of Kimi Antonelli. Four Grands Prix later, his title hopes are gone and he trails the championship leader by 103 points.
The pressure is also building on Ferrari's leadership. Vasseur and his drivers have faced questions about Christian Horner since the former Red Bull boss gave an interview in The Times.
Terruzzi compares Hamilton to 'old-school' Raikkonen
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Terruzzi's first target was the way Hamilton handled the media in Baku, which he compared to the Kimi Raikkonen of old.
In interviews yesterday, he sounded like Raikkonen from the good old days. He has zero desire to talk. He has no desire to be anywhere else. Something's off in Hamilton's mood.- Giorgio Terruzzi, Corriere della Sera (translated from Italian)
The journalist pointed to Hamilton's recent results as one reason for his change in mood. He also put forward a second theory: a relationship with Ferrari's trackside staff that he called 'far from peaceful'.
Corriere claims Vasseur was 'a bit too close to Charles'
The most striking part of the column is the claim that Hamilton's impatience comes from decisions he felt favoured his teammate. Hamilton has been ahead of Leclerc in the standings this season.
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Some justify his evident impatience with a series of attitudes and decisions that were too favourable to Leclerc during a season in which he found himself in an advantageous position over his teammate. Something that also took the honey out of his relationship with Vasseur, who, in his view, was a bit too close to Charles.- Giorgio Terruzzi, Corriere della Sera (translated from Italian)
Terruzzi also wrote that not everyone inside Maranello is on Hamilton's side. Some say mistakes were made on the car of "a champion who doesn't tolerate embarrassment", while others "accuse Hamilton of blaming the engineers even when he was responsible for a subpar performance."
In a separate piece, Corriere della Sera's Flavio Vanetti gave Hamilton 5/10 for his Baku drive. He wrote that nothing stood out from the performance and warned that Hamilton, after a recent lift in spirits, "might start sulking and lose his drive again."
Hamilton has already denied earlier Corriere claims
This is not the first time the paper has reported tension between Hamilton and Vasseur. Earlier this month, Corriere della Sera reported that Hamilton had asked for changes among Ferrari's trackside staff. It also suggested that his relationship with the team boss had become strained. GPblog has already examined what those reports mean for Vasseur's future.
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Hamilton responded on Instagram at the time with a post that directly rejected the story.
I've never asked for anyone on my team to be replaced. Everyone I work with works hard every day, and their dedication is what moves us forward.- Lewis Hamilton on Instagram
Ferrari has not responded publicly to the latest column. Like the earlier reports, Terruzzi's claims should be read as one journalist's account, not as established fact but the pressure is most certainly building.
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