Lewis Hamilton says 'I couldn't really care less' in blunt message to Ferrari

Lewis Hamilton declared he 'couldn't really care less' about finishing eighth at the Azerbaijan Grand Prix. Ferrari's drivers finished at the back end of the point-paying positions in Baku on Sunday, behind the likes of Carlos Sainz and Liam Lawson. Hamilton now has just seven chances remaining to end his podium drought in 2025, and Ferrari find themselves in a precarious position in the Constructors' Championship.

Fred Vasseur's squad dropped behind rivals Mercedes, who now hold a four-point lead over the Italian outfit thanks to George Russell's second-place finish. For Hamilton, Sunday's result capped off another 'what could have been' weekend. The Brit, along with team-mate Charles Leclerc, looked like a threat for pole position after Friday's free practice running, but instead left the Azerbaijani capital with more questions than answers.

"Not good," he told Sky Sports F1, looking back at Ferrari's Sunday. "I mean, we were slow. Ultimately, a disappointing result. I was feeling so optimistic through practice. After FP2, I felt so good in the car, and I think that's where we went in the wrong direction with the car.

"Our ultimate pace was just not on par with the guys ahead of us. Qualifying was clearly so important, if you look at where the Williams was. They did a great job, and congratulations to them. What an amazing result.

"For us, I'm happy I moved forward from 12th, but I couldn't really care less for that position. Yesterday, for sure, operationally we could have done a better job, so that's something we need to work on. I felt like I made progress today, and my pace was decent, but the others are just rapid.

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"It was so hard to overtake here today, and it's an unusual Baku race where there's just not much overtaking, and it's really hard to follow. I'm definitely disappointed to come away with nothing."

Hamilton was even caught up in a bit of internal drama. The 40-year-old was instructed to hand eighth place back to Leclerc before the line, but misjudged the point at which he needed to step off the gas. This meant that the cars took the chequered flag in the same order in which they started the final lap.

"I think it was very clear, but I really don't care for an eighth place at the end," Leclerc replied when asked about the mix-up. "I don't think that this should be the talking point. Unfortunately, we have been very slow all weekend, and that's where we should focus on. P8 or P9, or P9 or P8, is not something that really interests me, so it's fine."