Ferrari made Lewis Hamilton a ‘paradoxical’ request before the Austrian Grand Prix which jeopardised his race

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Ferrari star Lewis Hamilton is now enduring the longest podium drought of his 19-year Formula 1 career, having only managed to take fourth in the 2025 Austrian Grand Prix.

Failing to finish on the rostrum at the Red Bull Ring last Sunday meant Hamilton has now not got on the podium over the last 13 Grands Prix. The 40-year-old had never previously gone as long without a top-three finish, as Hamilton took 202 podiums in his first 354 Grands Prix.

His failure to finish on the podium during the first 10 rounds of the 2025 F1 season ahead of the Austrian GP had also already made this the worst start to a year of Hamilton’s career. He had never before gone as deep into a season without a podium finish prior to joining Ferrari.

Ferrari made a ‘paradoxical’ request for Lewis Hamilton to manage his car in the Austrian Grand Prix

Ferrari introduced a major floor and rear diffuser upgrade in Austria as the Scuderia strive to make their SF-25 more competitive. No team ran a bigger update than the Maranello squad, who ran changes on the floor edge, fences and body on Charles Leclerc and Hamilton’s cars.

Yet the pride of Italy ran a race of their own in third and fourth place in Styria, as Leclerc and Hamilton finished 19.820s and 29.020 seconds behind Austrian GP winner Lando Norris. The final podium position was theirs to lose after Andrea Kimi Antonelli took Max Verstappen out.

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Without Mercedes rookie Antonelli crashing into Verstappen in the Austrian GP at Red Bull’s own circuit, then Leclerc and Hamilton may have paid the price for the ‘paradoxical’ request that Ferrari made. George Russell brought his Mercedes home 33.376s from Hamilton in P5.

That is according to Corriere della Sera, which reports that Ferrari made it clear to Hamilton and Leclerc before and also during Sunday’s Austrian GP that they both could not ‘overdo it’ with their driving, would have to look after their brakes and could not stress the Pirelli tyres.

Ferrari were very concerned that Leclerc and Hamilton could struggle to run a two-stop race in the Austrian GP if they pushed flat out, which McLaren pair Norris and Oscar Piastri could in their fight for the victory. Leclerc took the chequered flag 17.125s behind the papaya pals.

Lewis Hamilton disagreed with Ferrari’s strategy in the Austrian Grand Prix

Hamilton admitted that he must ‘figure out’ his lack of pace in the Austrian GP over Ferrari’s team radio at the chequered flag on Sunday. But his race engineer Riccardo Adami also told the 40-year-old that his struggles were linked to having ‘many things to manage’ in the race.

Adami’s communication to Hamilton over the radio during the Austrian GP also took Jacques Villeneuve’s eye. The 1997 F1 champion found their discussions ‘odd’ as Hamilton disagreed with Ferrari’s Austrian GP strategy, as he made it clear that he wanted to try a one-stop race.

Hamilton eventually conceded and made his second pit stop on Lap 50 of 70, but it ensured he fell back behind Leclerc in their albeit unlikely fight for third place. Staying out and trying a one-stop strategy was the Briton’s only hope for snatching the podium finish from Leclerc.