FOM responds to Ferrari after Hamilton's radio 'joke'

In a relatively calm Chinese Grand Prix, the “hot” moments could be counted on the fingers of one hand. One of them concerned Ferrari when asked to Lewis Hamilton to let it pass Charles Leclerc, on a better pace than him despite a clearly damaged front wing.

A strategy often implemented by teams when one of their drivers is faster than the other. Nothing unusual, in short. And yet, the scene caused a stir when Lewis Hamilton's radio call was broadcast on television. Asked to open the door for Charles Leclerc on lap 20, the seven-time world champion didn't immediately comply, telling his engineer Riccardo Adami that his teammate wasn't close enough to avoid losing time.

It wasn't until the first corner of the following lap that the two men swapped positions. A highly mundane situation that nonetheless attracted criticism, as Lewis Hamilton's tone could have been interpreted as that of an annoyed person at the time of the broadcast. This irritated the Reds, even though Frédéric Vasseur had insisted that it was his new recruit who had taken the initiative.

« I think this is a FOM joke, indicated the director of the Scuderia. The first call came from Lewis. But to make a show of it, they changed the situation by only broadcasting the second part of the radio exchange. »

FOM deplores bad timing

So, was this exchange contrived by Liberty Media to make people believe there was some animosity between Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc after only two Grands Prix together?

FOM (Formula One Management) responded to the incident, saying the goal was not to sell the public a tension that did not actually exist. There was absolutely no intention to present a misleading account regarding the Ferrari radio exchange., assured a spokesperson with RaceFans. Due to other situations that arose during the race, Lewis's message was not broadcast, but this was not intentional.. » Hoping that this will convince Frédéric Vasseur.

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