Lewis Hamilton has issued a rallying cry to his Ferrari team after a disappointing Singapore Grand Prix, with the Italian outfit struggling to match their rivals in recent races
Lewis Hamilton has urged his Ferrari squad to “go further” in their quest for the triumph they’re determined to secure together. His appeal comes as his debut campaign with the legendary outfit risks petering out disappointingly, with Ferrari struggling to keep pace with their competitors currently.
The previous two Grands Prix, in Azerbaijan and Singapore, have delivered scant satisfaction for the Italian marque and their drivers. Hamilton ended both races in eighth position, though the latter result would have been better were it not for a post-race penalty.
Five seconds were added to his time after Sunday’s Grand Prix concluded, due to his repeated corner-cutting in the closing stages while managing a serious issue with his brakes. It meant Fernando Alonso, who he narrowly finished ahead of on track, inherited seventh place.
Team-mate Charles Leclerc has generally performed more strongly this campaign but has also encountered difficulties recently, placing ninth in Baku and sixth at the Marina Bay Circuit on Sunday. Both racers acknowledged afterwards that Ferrari are presently failing to deliver the standard of performance required to surpass or even equal their closest competitors.
Mercedes have now established a 27-point advantage in the constructors’ championship whilst Red Bull trail by merely eight points, despite Max Verstappen having accumulated virtually all their tally single-handedly. In an inspiring message shared on social media on Monday, Hamilton assured fans that he will commit everything possible to restore Ferrari to its former glory.
He said: “After a tough week, it feels good to be home. I had some time to reflect on my journey from Singapore and the main emotion I’m feeling is gratitude. The support and love I have felt since losing Roscoe has been a powerful reminder that, even when things sometimes seem dark, there is so much good in the world. You just have to look for it.
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“I’m looking at the positives on track too. The media headlines only tell one story: one where we don’t get things quite right, or things don’t go our way. But what I have been focussed on over the past few months is the other story. The one about how this team responds when things go wrong. How we get back up, and we go again.
“Yesterday was the perfect example. We got the strategy right, but the brake issue set us back just when momentum was building. So now we get back in the factory, learn from this last race, and plan for the next one.
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“I’m really proud of this team and want to help deliver the results they and the Tifosi deserve. I see the progress we are making, and the hard work that goes into every race, but this is Ferrari.
“Progress alone is not enough. To achieve greatness we need to go further, be better. There is so much we can achieve together, and if we can build on our successes, and change the things we need to, I fully believe we will get there.”