Italian media reported that Lewis Hamilton had pressed Ferrari to replace some of its track-side staff – the Briton denies these allegations
Lewis Hamilton has rejected claims by the Italian media that he had urged Ferrari to replace several key staff members at the circuit. In a report, the Corriere della Sera did not name any specific team members whom the Ferrari driver allegedly wanted to replace.
However, it was reported that Hamilton had expressed his frustration at the handling of individual races. At the Dutch Grand Prix in August, for example, Hamilton voiced his frustration over the radio that Ferrari had kept him waiting too long behind his team-mate Charles Leclerc whilst he was chasing a podium finish.
Later, at Monza, Hamilton was unhappy that Leclerc had collided with him on the first lap, and said afterwards that it was up to team principal Fred Vasseur to defuse the situation.
The Corriere della Sera even claimed that Hamilton’s relationship with Vasseur, with whom he had jointly won the GP2 title in 2006, was strained. However, the Briton has since denied all of this.
Hamilton wrote on social media: “I’ve seen some of the stories that have been published and would like to set the record straight here. I have never demanded that anyone on my team be replaced. Everyone I work with works hard every day, and it is their dedication that drives us forward.”
“I always try to empower people and encourage them to be the best version of themselves – or at least to see the best in themselves. Perhaps I don’t always succeed, but that is my intention and the reason I’m here. We’re all working together, and that’s how it will stay,” said Hamilton.
However, it wouldn’t have been the first time Hamilton had made changes to his team this year. Ahead of the 2026 season, he made adjustments to recover from a disappointing 2025 season.
Last year, he had a poor debut season at Ferrari, failing to secure a podium finish and finishing the championship in sixth place – 86 points behind Leclerc in fifth.
Consequently, Hamilton opted for a different race engineer for 2026: Carlo Santi and Cedric Michel-Grosjean replaced Riccardo Adami. He also made further changes, which led to a significantly improved 2026 season.
At the Barcelona Grand Prix in June, he executed a three-stop strategy to perfection and celebrated his first Grand Prix victory for Ferrari. After 14 World Championship races, he currently lies third in the overall standings, though 101 points behind the dominant Mercedes driver Kimi Antonelli.
