Untelevised Lewis Hamilton team radio after Ferrari strategy mistake

Untelevised team radio footage from the Bahrain Grand Prix has revealed the moment Lewis Hamilton learned that Ferrari had made a mistake by choosing dry tyres for the restart.

Ferrari explained that its tyre choice was partly based on onboard footage of the safety car lapping the circuit during the delay.

Hamilton finished third in Malaysia on Sunday as Red Bull driver Max Verstappen claimed his first win of the F1 2026 season.

It marked the seven-time world champion’s first podium finish since the British Grand Prix at Silverstone in early July.

Hamilton’s return to the podium came after he recovered from a Ferrari strategy error early in the race, which saw him and teammate Charles Leclerc restart on soft tyres on a wet track.

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Untelevised footage from Sepang has revealed the moment Hamilton clocked that cars around him – including Verstappen – had elected for intermediate tyres for the restart.

An unnamed Ferrari engineer responded by insisting that the track was dry partly based on onboard footage of the safety car circulating ahead of the restart.

The full exchange went as follows:

Hamilton: “Max is on inters.”

Ferrari: “Lewis, we see the track dry from the safety car onboard. You’ll have a look for yourself when you go around.”

Hamilton: “Cars around me are on [different] tyres.”

Hamilton: “Is Charles on the same tyre?”

Ferrari: “Confirmed, Lewis.”

As the formation lap began, Hamilton quickly realised that the circuit was still too wet for dry tyres.

With his race engineer, Carlo Santi, adamant that it would dry quickly, Hamilton requested a reduction in power to compensate for his reduced grip.

Santi: “Track looks quite dry.”

Hamilton: “The track’s still wet.”

Santi: “Our information is dry from safety car line 1 onwards.”

Hamilton: “The track’s still quite wet!”

Hamilton: “The track’s really wet still. S**t.”

Hamilton: “It’s so slippery, guys. It’s dangerous.”

Santi: “We need to survive the first couple of laps. It will dry up very soon.”

Hamilton: “It’s still very wet, guys.”

Santi: “Could be another lap behind the safety car. Try to warm the tyres.”

Hamilton: “Yeah, this track is still very wet, man.”

Hamilton: “Staying on is going to be very hard.”

Hamilton: “Can I turn down the power a little bit?”

Santi: “Green three, position two.”

Santi: “Will be standing start on the end of this lap.”

Hamilton: “This track is not drying up for 10 laps.”

Santi: “Will be a second-gear start.”

Santi: “Three burnouts and a half. Three burnouts and a half. Pre-select green five. Second gear start and shallow drop.”

Santi: “Last car is on the grid now.”

As the race began, Hamilton reported that the track was still not ready for dry tyres but remained hopeful that conditions would soon improve.

Hamilton: “It’s pretty terrible for a moment, but it’s gonna dry up.”

Santi: “Understood. You’re the first car on slick.”

In an exchange that did make Formula 1’s world feed, Santi called for Hamilton to pit for intermediates a lap later.

However, Hamilton remained insistent that the team had to stick with its original decision and brave it out.

Valtteri Bottas’s accident came to Hamilton’s rescue a short time later, allowing him to make up the time he lost to the leading cars and mount his recovery to the podium.

Santi: “Green two, position four. We are boxing for inters.”

Hamilton: “It’s getting drier, tyres are starting to work a bit more. You think that’s the smart thing to do?”

Santi: “If you want to stay out, we can gamble.”

Hamilton: “Stay out! You have to gamble! Now it’s too late, you have to stay out!”

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