Hamilton's Ferrari direction that Leclerc laughed at gets unexpected backing
Nico Rosberg has backed former teammate and rival Lewis Hamilton's initiative at Ferrari, which triggered laughs from Charles Leclerc, believing the Scuderia would do right to listen to seven-time world champion.
Ahead of the Belgian Grand Prix Hamilton revealed the extent of his efforts behind the scenes at Ferrari, calling “lots of meetings” with the team’s top brass in the three-week break between Silverstone and Spa.
The seven-time World Champion confirmed he sat down with Ferrari president John Elkann, CEO Benedetto Vigna, team principal Fred Vasseur and chassis technical director Loïc Serra, pressing for changes both to the current SF-25 and to the 2026 project.
“I hold a lot of meetings, I’ve called lots of meetings with the heads of the team," Hamilton said to GPblog among others.
“I’ve sat with John, Benedetto and Fred in several meetings. I’ve sat with the head of our car development, with Loic, also with the heads of different departments, talking about the engine for next year, talking about front suspension for next year, talking about rear suspension for next year – things that you want, issues that I have with this car.
What are the nature of the documents Hamilton sent
“Some of it’s structural adjustments that we need to make as a team in order to get better and all the areas that we want to improve.
“The other one was really about the car, the current issues that I have with this car, some things that you do want to take on to the next year’s car and some that you need to work on changing for next year.
“We did development for [next year], tried the 2026 car for the first time and started work on that.
“Thirty engineers come into the room and you sit and debrief with every single one of them. So, big, big push.”
Rosberg backs Hamilton’s Ferrari push that Leclerc laughed at
Hamilton’s Ferrari move has already pushed him to the limit. The Hungarian Grand Prix left him labelling himself 'useless' after qualifying P12 while Charles Leclerc took Ferrari’s first pole of the season.
The Briton also hinted at 'things going on in the background' at Maranello which he described as 'not great', which according to reports have now been revealed.
In light of the documents Hamilton shared, Leclerc laughed about the initiative saying he 'did not make documents', as he 'actually talked to people'.
But Nico Rosberg, Hamilton’s former Mercedes teammate, believes Ferrari should heed Hamilton's direction.
“He’s a seven-time World Champion, so you definitely have to listen to what a seven-time World Champion is telling you," said Rosberg in Sky Sports F1.
“But it also takes time. Many of the things they cannot just change overnight. If the brakes are an issue, it’s a long lead time to develop the new brake system. Or if he’s not happy with the balance, it’s a really long process.
“So in many senses, he will be even thinking about next year already now as well, with some of the things that he’s talking about," explained Rosberg dismissing the possibility of the Scuderia finding a short term solution to the issues.
“I think it’s a good sign, though, that we’re hearing that Lewis is pushing.
"He’s not like resigned, giving up, but he’s really pushing hard, the team, the owners, the team boss. That’s a great sign,” Rosberg concluded.
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