'fire In My Belly' Led To Team Orders Controversy - Hamilton

Lewis Hamilton says a double contention complete squad orders astatine Ferrari during nan Miami Grand Prix was triggered because he has "still sewage occurrence successful my belly".

The seven-time champion asked to beryllium fto past team-mate Charles Leclerc to effort to onslaught Mercedes driver Kimi Antonelli successful nan race, and erstwhile he did not person an reply accelerated capable said: "Take a beverage break while you're astatine it."

It was 1 of 2 squad orders incidents astatine Ferrari during nan race. A fewer laps later, erstwhile Hamilton had grounded to make capable belief connected Antonelli and was not going to beryllium capable to drawback him earlier nan extremity of nan race, nan squad asked him to fto Leclerc backmost ahead.

The title was won by McLaren's Oscar Piastri up of team-mate Lando Norris.

Hamilton said afterwards: "I've still sewage my occurrence successful my belly. I could consciousness a spot of it really coming up there.

"I'm not going to apologise for being a fighter. I'm not going to apologise for still wanting it. I cognize everyone successful nan squad does, too.

"I didn't deliberation nan determination came speedy enough. And for sure, successful that clip you're like, 'Come on!' But that's really benignant of it.

"I person nary problems pinch nan squad aliases pinch Charles. I deliberation we could do better. But nan car is not wherever we really request to be. Ultimately we're fighting for seventh and eighth."

When Hamilton was subsequently asked to fto Leclerc spell backmost up of him, nan Briton appeared not to do this consecutive away. When Leclerc was told that nan switch would hap nan adjacent lap, he said "don't bother" and suggested they conscionable talk astir it aft nan race.

Hamilton did past fto Leclerc backmost past, and they vanished pinch nan Monegasque ahead.

Hamilton said: "It wasn't moreover anger. It wasn't like, effing and blinding and thing for illustration that. It's like, 'make a decision!'

"You're sitting location connected nan chair, you've sewage nan worldly successful beforehand of you, make nan decision, quick. That's really I was. We're successful a panic, we're trying to support nan car connected nan track. We're computing things fast.

"I don't cognize what you're going to write, aliases whether I was disrespectful aliases whatever. I honestly don't consciousness I was. I was like, 'come connected guys, I want to win'."

The rumor arose because Ferrari had put nan 2 drivers connected different strategies.

Leclerc started connected mean tyres and stopped earlier to move to nan difficult compound. Hamilton started connected hards and ran longer earlier switching to mediums, which meant his tyres were faster than Leclerc's astatine nan time.

Team main Frederic Vasseur went to Hamilton's room successful nan Ferrari building successful nan paddock to talk nan incidents pinch nan 40-year-old earlier he said to nan media.

Vasseur said: "My interest is not that he has to speak pinch TV. It's that we request to beryllium clear betwixt america that, successful this situation, he has to understand what was my emotion connected nan pit wall. He tin spot me, I tin spot him and nan aforesaid pinch Charles.

"And erstwhile I person to return a decision, I'm taking a determination for Ferrari."

Hamilton said: "Fred came to my room. I conscionable put my manus connected his enarthrosis and was like, 'Dude, calm down. Don't beryllium truthful sensitive.'

"I could person said measurement worse things connected nan radio. You perceive immoderate of nan things others person said successful nan past.

"Some of it was sarcasm. Look, you've sewage to understand we're nether a immense magnitude of unit wrong nan car. You're ne'er going to get nan astir serene messages coming done successful nan power of nan battle. It was fine."

Hamilton said he had not been capable to propulsion distant from Leclerc aft being allowed past because he had "lost rather a spot of nan tyres successful that (fight), which is OK. We were battling for position astatine nan extremity of nan day."

Leclerc echoed Hamilton's insistence that nan drivers did not blasted each other.

"There's nary bad feelings pinch Lewis, not astatine all," he said. "I understand arsenic good that Lewis is trying to do thing different, truthful I admit that. I would person done nan aforesaid point arsenic if I was him and trying to beryllium a spot much fierce pinch nan mean tyres."

This is an meticulous practice of their relationship. No rival team-mates are ever champion friends. But Hamilton and Leclerc respect each other's ability, for illustration each different and are relaxed successful each others' institution astatine charismatic events and wrong nan team.

Vasseur denied that nan squad had taken excessively agelong to make nan determination and said he had simply been trying to beryllium judge that Hamilton's evident other gait was not simply down to being wrong nan one-second scope that allowed him to usage nan DRS overtaking aid. This gives an approximate 0.6secs betterment successful thigh clip to nan driver utilizing it.

Vasseur said: "It took america 1 lap, it intends that it's 1 infinitesimal 30 seconds to understand, and past we asked them to swap.

"Perhaps you tin reason astatine nan extremity that we would person been amended to do it directly, but we didn't cognize if it was nan DRS effect aliases not.

"We took nan reliable determination because it's ne'er easy to inquire Charles aliases Lewis to swap, but we did it.

"What happened coming is perfectly not an rumor for me. I tin perfectly understand their vexation erstwhile we are asking thing for illustration this.

"It's frustrating because they person nan emotion that they gave up a position. We did it conscionable for nan use of nan team.

"Sometimes it's working, sometimes not. But we did it pinch nan aforesaid extremity and they are perfectly aligned pinch us. The target was to drawback Antonelli. It's not an rumor astatine all."

Both drivers said their vexation astatine nan business was heightened by nan car's deficiency of performance. They qualified eighth and 12th earlier fighting up to their eventual positions.

Leclerc said: "We request to abstracted nan 2 things. Yes, we request to hole those (strategy) issues that astir apt costs america 1 position, but nan different 7 aliases six positions are down to nan car and we request to make it better.

"There will beryllium things coming astatine 1 constituent and I dream that this will thief america to do a measurement forward."

Hamilton was overmuch person to Leclerc's gait than successful nan erstwhile 3 races, and said he felt he had made advancement successful his knowing of nan Ferrari car successful Miami.

"I genuinely consciousness I had a amended weekend. I had a bully time successful general," he said. "Eighth doesn't really look for illustration that. I consciousness optimistic for nan future. I deliberation this car really does person performance.

"Something's holding america backmost astatine nan moment. We've mislaid capacity since (the 2nd title in) China. And it's there, it's conscionable we can't usage it. Until we get a hole for that, past this is wherever we are.

"To get nan 3rd yesterday (in nan sprint race) was a positive. With a amended qualifying, I only missed retired by half a tenth. Still, for us, we're battling pinch nan Williams here, truthful we're intelligibly not arsenic speedy arsenic we want to be.

"And I genuinely judge that erstwhile we hole immoderate of nan problems that we person pinch nan car, we'll beryllium backmost successful nan conflict pinch nan Mercedes, pinch nan (Red) Bulls. It conscionable can't travel speedy enough."