Former F1 race winner David Coulthard sees no reason for Lewis Hamilton to walk back his outburst at the Dutch Grand Prix.

Speaking on his Up to Speed podcast, Coulthard argued the substance of the complaint was fair, and that the delivery told its own story about how deep the frustration ran.

“I think he’s got some valid points. I’ve never heard Lewis Hamilton so angry on the radio. I’ve never heard him raise his voice. He never curses. Never.”

The radio message came on Sunday 23 August at Zandvoort, when Hamilton was stuck behind teammate Charles Leclerc on a different strategy. Once Leclerc finally pitted on lap 43, Hamilton fired back sarcastically over the airwaves: “Great way of wasting time guys, good job.”

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He finished fourth, just behind Mercedes’ George Russell and outside the podium places he felt those lost laps had cost him.

Hamilton walks it back on Instagram

By the Monday after the race, Hamilton had listened back to his messages and issued a public apology.

“I’ve listened back to some of my radio and TV comments. In the heat of the moment frustration can come out, especially when you care as deeply as I do. But that wasn’t the best version of me. I take responsibility for that, and I’ll be better,” he wrote on Instagram.

On the Sunday, before the tone had shifted, Hamilton had pointed to Mercedes as the yardstick.

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“I want to win. I want to win. I’m here to win and it is difficult when you’re looking ahead and you see the two Mercedes drivers, they get the call and it’s done, they execute straight away,” he told reporters.

“They let Kimi by and let him get on with the race. I was on a different strategy. It’s not the same here and that’s a little bit difficult, but we just have to take it.”

Vasseur defends the withheld strategy

Ferrari team principal Frédéric Vasseur pushed back on the idea the pit wall had botched it, saying the plan was deliberately kept off the radio.

“We didn’t want to tell him the strategy at this stage, because we didn’t want to disclose it to the competitors,” Vasseur said.

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“We wanted to keep him on track until the end. I think it would have been the right call.”

Ferrari head home to Monza

Ferrari now heads to its home round, where the Italian Grand Prix runs 4-6 September, with Sunday’s race on 6 September. The team will arrive after leaving Zandvoort with a fourth and fifth.

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