Former F1 TV pundit Will Buxton has questioned whether Ferrari can effectively manage the relationship between seven-time world champion Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc.
Speaking on the Up To Speed podcast after the Dutch Grand Prix, Buxton contrasted Ferrari’s hesitation over team orders with Mercedes’ swift decision-making. Mercedes quickly arranged a position swap, while Ferrari chose not to intervene, prompting a series of frustrated radio messages from Hamilton.
Ferrari’s team orders challenge
Buxton said the incident was less a test of the two Ferrari drivers’ relationship than a test of how the team’s management handles competing priorities.
Leclerc has raced for Ferrari since 2019 and is deeply established within the organisation. Hamilton joined the Maranello team in 2025 following a successful 12-year spell with Mercedes. After taking time to adapt to his new surroundings, the 41-year-old returned to top form in 2026.
“Is this Ferrari’s first real test of the Charles and Lewis relationship? Well, if it’s not a test of their relationship, it’s a test of how the team handles it because Charles is the golden child, right? Always has been. He’s Ferrari through and through. He’s probably never going to race anywhere else. It’s his place, and he’s been there since he was a kid,” Buxton explained.
“And then you’ve got Lewis, the GOAT, seven-time champion. You can’t please both, right? In an F1 team, one driver’s going to be p***ed, one driver’s going to come out happy. That’s just how it works out, especially in these kinds of scenarios. And you kind of have to take your medicine sometimes and realise that you’re going to p*** off one.
“You can’t keep both of them happy in every single eventuality. It doesn’t happen. Lewis has experience of a team that executes immediately at Mercedes, and he wants that world championship-winning mentality at Ferrari because unless you have that, you’re never going to win a title.
“So I can see the frustration in Lewis of being like, ‘Guys, we’re making ourselves look like d***s here. This is stupid.’ Because he has experience of the other side of the coin.
“Is it a Ferrari problem? Is it a Charles-Lewis problem? How quickly do they have to nip it in the bud? Do they have to just figure out what they’re doing and actually get it written down, or understand that the level of execution that they have at the moment just simply isn’t what a championship-winning team has?”
