Lewis Hamilton nails key issue at Ferrari with telling remarks after Dutch Grand Prix

Lewis Hamilton has said he will 'need to discuss' Ferrari's strategy decisions with the team after he missed out on a podium at the Dutch Grand Prix.

Hamilton finished in fourth place at Zandvoort, crossing the line under a second behind Mercedes' George Russell.

He started the race in fifth, but dropped down to sixth after being overtaken by Oscar Piastri at the start.

That position prompted a longer first stint, meaning he had a better tyre offset in the second stint compared to the cars around him.

Hamilton dispatched of Piastri on fresher tyres and caught up to the back of Ferrari team-mate Charles Leclerc, who was nearing his pit window.

Hamilton, who was much quicker at the time, asked race engineer Carlo Santi whether Leclerc could let him through to get closer to the cars ahead.

Leclerc initially turned down Ferrari's requests for him to pit as he wanted to stay out longer compared to Russell, though he pitted a lap later in a decision which effectively cost both him and Hamilton crucial time.

Then, as he led the race after others had pitted, Ferrari delayed Hamilton's pit stop, with the 41-year-old asking over team radio why he had stayed out for so long.

"Are you using me as a guinea pig?" he asked. "What's going on? How long will you have me stay out?"

After he had been overtaken by Lando Norris and Kimi Antonelli, the deployment of a virtual safety car did allow Hamilton to box for used softs with 18 laps to go.

But the VSC meant that all his nearest rivals - bar Norris, who was comfortably in the lead of the race - all pitted, negating some of the advantage that he would have gained from being on fresher tyres.

By the end of the Grand Prix, Leclerc was on newer soft tyres than Hamilton and was able to catch up to the back of him, despite being six seconds behind after both cars made their stops under the VSC.

After the chequered flag, Leclerc drove past Hamilton and appeared to shake his head in his direction - though it was the Englishman who appeared to have more to be aggrieved about post-race.

'Definitely frustrating' - Hamilton on Ferrari missed opportunity at Dutch GP

"I think what's clear is, I'm looking ahead and seeing Mercedes execute like that," Hamilton said, of Mercedes' decision to allow a faster Antonelli, who is leading the Drivers' Championship, past Russell for second in the closing stages.

"They've got the car, they're fighting for the championship, in the lead and they did it straight away. Here, I'm sitting back, losing seconds. It's something that we need to discuss offline."

"Today was definitely frustrating for me," he continued. "I'm here to win, and I really believe this team can win.

"To win championships, you need to pick up every point. The last few races have been difficult with penalties and today I lost several seconds behind Charles, which I think ultimately would have made the difference at the end.

"My goal is to try and lead this team to the championship, and we've got some work to do for sure."

Leclerc, meanwhile, was asked by reporters if he had spoken to Hamilton post-race, replying: "No, but I mean, sometimes there's frustration on my side, sometimes there's frustration on Lewis' side, and in general, we get along really well. So there won't be any problem on that front."

“No, but I mean, sometimes there’s frustration on my side, sometimes there’s frustration on Lewis’ side, and in general, we get along really well. So there won’t be any problem on that front.”