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Lewis Hamilton has been accused of "sulking" at Ferrari in a column by Giorgio Terruzzi for the Italian newspaper Corriere della Sera. According to the journalist, "something has broken" within the Scuderia, and Hamilton's relationship with Fred Vasseur has deteriorated because he feels the team principal is too close to Charles Leclerc.
The commentary followed another difficult weekend for Ferrari at the Azerbaijan Grand Prix. Mercedes' pace humbled Ferrari and the rest of the grid, with Leclerc and Hamilton only managing to finish fourth and sixth, respectively.
Hamilton started the second half of the season second in the standings and within striking distance of Andrea Kimi Antonelli. Four races later, his title hopes have vanished, and he trails the championship leader by 103 points.
Pressure is also mounting on Ferrari's management. Vasseur and his drivers faced questions about Christian Horner after the former Red Bull boss gave an interview to The Times newspaper and put himself forward for the job.
Terruzzi's first target was Hamilton's handling of the media in Baku, which he compared to Kimi Räikkönen's past behaviour.
"In the Baku interviews, he sounded like the Räikkönen of old. Zero desire to talk. No desire to be anywhere else. Something is wrong with Hamilton's mood," Terruzzi wrote.
The journalist pointed to Hamilton's recent results as one reason for his change in mood. He also presented a second theory: a relationship with Ferrari's trackside staff that he described as "far from peaceful."
The most striking part of the column is the claim that Hamilton's impatience stems from decisions he believes have favoured his teammate. Hamilton is ahead of Leclerc in the standings this season.
"Some justify his apparent impatience with a series of attitudes and decisions that were too favourable to Leclerc in a season where he has found himself in a more advantageous position than his teammate. Something that has also soured his relationship with Vasseur, who he feels has been a little too close to Charles," Terruzzi elaborated.
Terruzzi also writes that not everyone in Maranello is on Hamilton's side. Some claim that mistakes have been made on the car of a "champion who does not tolerate uncomfortable situations," while others "accuse Hamilton of blaming the engineers, even when he was responsible for his poor performance."
In a separate piece, Flavio Vanetti of Corriere della Sera gave Hamilton a 5/10 rating for his performance in Baku. He wrote that nothing stood out in his performance and warned that Hamilton, after a recent lift in spirits, "could start sulking again and lose motivation."
This is not the first time the newspaper has reported on tensions between Hamilton and Vasseur. Earlier this month, Corriere della Sera reported that Hamilton had requested changes among Ferrari's trackside staff. The publication also suggested that his relationship with the team principal had become strained.
Hamilton later responded on Instagram with a post that directly dismissed the story.
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