Lewis Hamilton’s struggles at Ferrari continued at the Dutch Grand Prix as he suffered his first retirement in the famous red colours.
The seven-time world champion lost the rear end at turn three on lap 23 and slammed into the wall. He had planned to come into the pits and undercut George Russell and teammate Charles Leclerc, but he never made it back around.
Hamilton admitted the crash was ‘very unusual’ in that it came so early in the race. It was not the start to the second half of the season he would have wanted, especially after a torrid opening 14 races.
RANKDRIVERTEAMPOINTS1Oscar PiastriMcLaren252Max VerstappenRed Bull183Isack HadjarRacing Bulls154George RussellMercedes125Alex AlbonWilliams106Oliver BearmanHaas87Lance StrollAston Martin68Fernando AlonsoAston Martin49Yuki TsunodaRed Bull210Esteban OconHaas1
The 40-year-old is still waiting for his first podium for the Maranello outfit. A reset over the summer was desperately needed after Hamilton told Ferrari he should be replaced at the Hungarian GP.
Ferrari ‘totally reconfigured’ their setup at Zandvoort, but still struggled in the high-speed sections as they could not keep up with the McLarens, Max Verstappen and even Isack Hadjar’s Racing Bulls. Ultimately, they suffered a double retirement after Leclerc was taken out by Kimi Antonelli.
Once again, Ferrari were left with more questions than answers after a race weekend as they walked away with no points. Hamilton has encountered several issues with the car and the team’s operation in 2025, but Verstappen may have told him a solution to one ‘very difficult’ problem.
Photo by Mark Thompson/Getty ImagesMax Verstappen has just told Lewis Hamilton how to solve ‘very difficult’ problem with his Ferrari race engineer
One of Hamilton’s biggest issues since joining Ferrari is establishing a consistent way of working with his race engineer Riccardo Adami.
It is early in their partnership, and he has just spent the past 12 years working with Peter Bonnington at Mercedes, but Hamilton and Adami have clashed numerous times in 2025 as they struggle to find the right balance.
It is a sharp contrast to Verstappen and his relationship with Gianpiero Lambiase at Red Bull. He shared how the pair have a great relationship through spending time with each other and learning how each other works; it is exactly what Hamilton has to do with Adami.
“If you would tell me right now I need to swap race engineer, I think that’s a very difficult thing to accept, just because of when you have a good relationship with your engineer,” said Verstappen via the official Red Bull YouTube channel.
“I almost don’t need to speak because he knows exactly what I need or want from the car. And I think you can hear it on the radio. Of course, we have our fiery comments here and there.
“But I think it actually works really well for us. But besides that, yeah, in very difficult situations in the race, I think we can always get the most out of it.
“With a race engineer it is not always the easiest, especially when you’re new.
“So I think the more time you get to spend time together during a race weekend or when you’re practising on the simulator, going for dinners, [it’s] also good outside of the racing environment, just getting to know the person. I think that always helps.”
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Photo by Nicolas Economou/NurPhoto via Getty ImagesRadio communication has been a huge problem for Ferrari in 2025
Communication with the pit wall has been a major issue across Ferrari in 2025. Hamilton clashed with Adami in Barcelona, reiterating to Fred Vasseur that it was a problem that desperately needed addressing.
But since that race, more problems have occurred, notably with the Brit’s teammate. Leclerc was furious over the radio at Budapest as Ferrari did not listen to his requests with strategy, ultimately costing him a podium and a potential win.
At Zandvoort, Leclerc was running in P5 and felt comfortable on the hard compound. However, Ferrari pitted for soft tyres and came out ahead of Antonelli, before the pair collided at turn three.
Leclerc told Ferrari he wanted to stay out on the hards. His DNF would have been avoided had the team listened to his request, highlighting once again how big a problem it is for the Maranello outfit ahead of their home race at Monza.