Lewis Hamilton at centre of Ferrari team orders as Leclerc issues response – round-up
Ferrari's Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc
There was no shortage of drama on Grand Prix Sunday at the Azerbaijan Grand Prix, where Max Verstappen emerged victorious, and Carlos Sainz scored his first Williams podium.
Ferrari meanwhile became a key talking point of the race when Lewis Hamilton failed to execute a swap of positions with Ferrari teammate Charles Leclerc. All this and more as we take a fast-paced look through the major headlines from Baku.
Lewis Hamilton involved in Ferrari team order drama
Leclerc obliged with Ferrari’s request to let Hamilton through, in order to attack the trio of Liam Lawson, Yuki Tsunoda and Lando Norris in the closing stages. Hamilton was on the fresher tyres.
Hamilton could not make any overtakes and was asked to let Leclerc back through into eighth. That did not happen, despite Hamilton slowing and moving aside in the approach to the line.
Hamilton said he was too in the zone, and having failed to back off enough, apologised to Leclerc.
Read more – Lewis Hamilton at centre of Ferrari team orders in untelevised Baku GP radio call
Charles Leclerc suggests ‘rules not respected’ by Lewis Hamilton
Fortunately, Leclerc was totally unfazed by what went down, considering it was only a P8 finish at stake.
However, he would hope for a different outcome if “sexier positions” were up for grabs in future, having alluded to the rules not being respected by Hamilton.
Read more – Leclerc suggests ‘rules not respected’ in Lewis Hamilton Baku team orders breakdown
Oscar Piastri to escape grid penalty
It was a nightmare Azerbaijan Grand Prix for Drivers’ Championship leader in Oscar Piastri. Following on from his Q3 crash, Piastri suffered a false start, then crashed out on the opening lap of the race.
Piastri was given a five-second penalty for the false start, but despite having not served it, the punishment will not carry over into Singapore.
Read more – Explained: Why Oscar Piastri will escape a Singapore GP grid penalty
Oscar Piastri wary of Max Verstappen threat
While it was a “messy” race weekend for Piastri, Max Verstappen’s was anything but. Back-to-back poles and victories has breathed fresh life into the season for Verstappen and Red Bull.
Verstappen has delivered his trademark disappearing act out front two weekends in a row, leading some to ask the question of whether he still has a sniff of winning World Championship number five. Piastri is not “going to rule him out” of the conversation.
Read more – Oscar Piastri wary of Verstappen title challenge after ‘messy’ Baku weekend
2025 Azerbaijan GP winners and losers
The fact that Verstappen stands proudly in the winners section, while Piastri falls into a losers spot in Baku, will be of little surprise.
Sadly for McLaren, both of their drivers find themselves on the wrong side of this equation, while Carlos Sainz and George Russell have reason to smile.
Read more – Winners and losers from the 2025 Azerbaijan Grand Prix
