Lewis Hamilton offered up some interesting comments after the Canadian Grand Prix, suggesting that he has been blocked from discussing a number of internal issues within the Ferrari camp with the media. The seven-time world champion executed a damage limitation race in Montreal after a lap 13 incident, in which he ran over a groundhog on the racetrack, stripping him of 20 points of downforce, worth an estimated half a second per lap.
The Brit eventually crossed the line in sixth, one spot behind team-mate Charles Leclerc. While this was, in isolation, an acceptable result for Hamilton, sixth-place finishes will do little to appease the 40-year-old, who has 105 Grand Prix victories to his name. He has taken the chequered flag in the top 10 at every race this season, albeit he was later disqualified in China, but never on the podium.
When asked about changes needed on the car after the race in Canada, he offered a cryptic reply. “Of course I’m asking for these things,” he said. “I don’t know why we haven’t been bringing upgrades. I think we have one hopefully coming soon. The mindset for me, I’m like ‘There’s a lot of changes that need to be made in the system.’
“I wish I could tell you what’s happening. There’s a lot going on in the background. Yeah, I can’t say too much about it. There’s so many things I wish I could tell you that could explain the things that have happened this year, the problems we had and what’s going on within the organisation.
“But my goal is to try and positively influence, try and get change so we can have long-term success. There’s a lot of changes that we need. For me, it’s that foundation building. We’re not fighting for a championship.”
For now, however, Hamilton and Ferrari are stuck fighting in no man’s land behind those fighting for victories, but comfortably ahead of the midfield. Hamilton is now 25 points behind Leclerc in the Drivers’ Championship standings and 16 points ahead of rookie Kimi Antonelli, who scored his first-ever F1 podium in Montreal.