The Baku Grand Prix has left a bitter taste in Ferrari’s mouth, not merely due to a performance that fell short of expectations, but because of a contentious “team order” incident that has sent shockwaves through the paddock. As the checkered flag fell, Lewis Hamilton crossed the line in eighth, with Charles Leclerc trailing in ninth—a result far from satisfying for the legendary Italian team. However, the real drama unfolded in the final laps, where an order to swap positions between the two drivers was botched, plunging Ferrari into an internal investigation and raising serious questions about its race strategy and driver dynamics.

A Challenging Start and Leclerc’s Engine Woes

From the outset, the Baku weekend was a difficult affair for Ferrari. Despite showing promising pace in practice sessions, the team failed to convert that potential when it mattered most. Lewis Hamilton could only manage a P12 start, while Charles Leclerc, following a crash in the final qualifying session (Q3), lined up in P10. The race itself offered little redemption. Hamilton salvaged a P8 finish, and Leclerc came home in P9, a result that Team Principal Frederic Vasseur bluntly stated, “we cannot be satisfied with.”

A significant factor hampering Leclerc’s race was a persistent engine problem. After his pit stops, Leclerc found himself unable to overtake Liam Lawson of the Racing Bulls team. In a stunning display of defensive driving, Lawson, even without the advantage of DRS, managed to hold off the Ferrari. Vasseur later confirmed that the team would launch a full investigation into the power unit issue on Leclerc’s car. “We had an issue with Charles’s engine which we’ll now investigate,” Vasseur announced, as quoted by RacingNews365. He elaborated, “Even if it was marginal, it was enough to prevent him from being able to overtake in a straight line, which explains why we were stuck behind Lawson.”

This technical failure was a source of immense frustration, especially as Ferrari believed the car possessed the pace for a much stronger qualifying performance. “The main regret is for qualifying because we had the pace to do a much better job, and that’s where the weekend got away from us,” Vasseur lamented. He highlighted the critical distinction between raw performance and flawless execution, admitting that while the car had shown a step forward since Spa, qualifying in P10 and P12 was simply not what the team expected.

The Team Order Breakdown: A Botched Swap

The story, however, extends beyond mechanical gremlins. The focal point of post-race discussion quickly shifted to the final, tense moments of the Grand Prix, where a controversial team order was issued and subsequently failed. Technically, Leclerc should have finished in P8. In the closing stages of the race, Hamilton, on much fresher tires and holding a significant pace advantage, was given the green light to pass Leclerc. The strategic objective was clear: allow the faster car to attack Lando Norris, Yuki Tsunoda, and Liam Lawson ahead in the hope of securing more valuable points for the team.

The gamble, however, did not pay off. Hamilton was unable to make any further progress up the order. Once it became evident that his charge had stalled, Ferrari’s pit wall instructed him to return the P8 position to Leclerc before they reached the finish line. To his credit, Hamilton appeared to attempt to comply. Onboard footage showed him slowing dramatically on the approach to the line, moving off the racing line, and checking his mirrors, clearly having received and understood the instruction. Yet, inexplicably, he still crossed the finish line four-tenths of a second ahead of his teammate. Despite the intention, the execution was a failure.

The Aftermath: Driver Reactions and Vasseur’s Explanation

Charles Leclerc’s reaction to the incident was characteristically candid, yet tinged with a surprising indifference toward the specific result. “I think it was very clear, but I don’t really care for an eighth place at the end,” Leclerc stated, as quoted by Planet F1. “I don’t think that this should be the talking point. Unfortunately, we’ve been slow all weekend, and that’s where we should focus on. P8 or P9, P9 or P8, it’s not something that really interests me. So it’s fine.”

However, he then delivered a line that will surely resonate within the walls of Maranello: “I mean, there are rules that we know we’ve got to work with. And today, maybe those rules were not respected. But again, I mean, P8, P9, P9, P8, that’s small.” Leclerc’s pointed remark that “rules were not respected” hints at a deeper frustration. While he publicly downplayed the loss of a single point, the underlying principle of adhering to team strategy and ensuring fairness between drivers is a cornerstone of any successful F1 operation.

Team Principal Frederic Vasseur sought to clarify the situation from the team’s perspective. “I think the situation was clear for us that Lewis had a tire advantage and we asked Charles to let him go to try and overtake Lawson and Tsunoda or Norris,” Vasseur explained. He acknowledged Leclerc’s handicap, noting, “Charles had the issue with the recovery, and we are not at the top on the engine, and that I think was the best option for us to do this move.” Regarding the failed swap, Vasseur attributed it to a simple error. “We asked to swap back and it looks like Lewis had a misjudgment on the position of the start and finish line,” he concluded.

Unanswered Questions and Lingering Tensions for Ferrari

This botched team order in Baku raises a host of critical questions for Ferrari. Firstly, it casts a spotlight on the execution of their race strategies. Whether Hamilton’s failure to complete the swap was a “misjudgment” or a communication breakdown, it reveals a lack of precision in a critical moment. In a sport decided by milliseconds, such errors can erode trust and foster resentment between drivers, potentially undermining the cooperative spirit essential for success.

Secondly, Leclerc’s candid comment about the rules not being respected cannot be dismissed lightly. While he may not be concerned with a single point, the perceived breach of protocol could impact his faith in the team’s strategic decisions moving forward. Team orders are a delicate but necessary tool in Formula 1, and their effectiveness hinges on absolute trust and compliance. Any doubt in that system can lead to devastating consequences on track.

Finally, the incident serves to amplify the technical challenges Ferrari is grappling with, most notably Leclerc’s engine issues. In a season where every point is fiercely contested, being hindered by both reliability problems and strategic blunders is a recipe for disappointment.

Ferrari now faces the urgent task of conducting a thorough internal review, not only of the engine’s performance but also of its procedures for issuing and executing team orders. Ensuring that such a public and clumsy error does not happen again is paramount to maintaining team unity and maximizing performance for the remainder of the season. Baku will undoubtedly be a race Ferrari wants to forget, but it is one from which they must learn crucial lessons if they hope to reclaim their position at the pinnacle of motorsport.