Leclerc accused of opening 'horrible Pandora's box' at Ferrari after Hamilton drama

On Lap 42 at Zandvoort, Hamilton was right behind Leclerc on four-lap fresher tyres, and lapping much faster than his Monegasque teammate. Leclerc had been told to pit while on a different strategy to that of Hamilton, who was fighting for the final podium position, but the Monegasque delayed until the next lap after a second order to box.

A furious Hamilton said on the radio: "Great way of wasting time guys, good job." The seven-time world champion's frustrations did not end there, later questioning whether Ferrari were using him as a "guinea pig" amid frustrations over whether to pit ahead of the pursuing Kimi Antonelli and Lando Norris. In the end, Hamilton just missed out on the final podium spot, finishing P4.

While Hamilton has publicly apologised for his "heat of the moment" radio outbursts, former Williams man Montoya believes that may not be the end of it, arguing Leclerc's actions risk creating a "bad atmosphere within the team."

Speaking to AS Colombia, Montoya compared Ferrari's Zandvoort drama to Mercedes' team orders to George Russell, who allowed title rival Kimi Antonelli through for a late, albeit fruitless, chase of eventual winner Lando Norris. He said: "That’s a problem. That’s the other side of the coin to what happened with Mercedes. Mercedes did it very well, they executed it very well.

While Montoya believes Hamilton would have failed to secure a podium regardless of the Leclerc incident, the Colombian explained that he was never given the best opportunity possible, adding that Ferrari should have instead given Leclerc an ultimatum during the squabble. “No, no. I don’t think he would have got onto the podium, but he would have been much closer," Montoya said. "And he burned up his tyres a lot trying to overtake and follow Leclerc.

Nonetheless, when asked on what the situation means for Hamilton and Leclerc's relationship at Ferrari, Montoya hastened to add that such incidents were normal - and that it is perfectly fine for drivers to not always get on as much as Instagram of TikTok would have fans believe.

"It’s racing; it’s normal that their relationship isn’t as good as people think it is, or as people see on TikTok, or Instagram, or anything like that. That’s normal; what happened there is what always used to happen when I was racing – every week it’s the same old drama,” he concluded.