Ferrari are under fire from Mercedes. With some members of the German team questioning Ferrari’s strategies, tensions between the teams are increasing. Especially with the help of Kimi Raikkonen’s wife.
The British Grand Prix was one of the most thrilling of this season. Within seconds of the start, a collision between Raikkonen and Lewis Hamilton sent the British Driver to the back of the pack, effectually losing him the chance of victory. Despite the setback, Hamilton managed to take second place at his home Grand Prix, but it was clear that the Englishman and his team were infuriated with the loss.
The triple-header has not been the easiest for Mercedes. This collision at Silverstone came after a dreadful weekend at the Austrian Grand Prix, where both cars were retired. The incident with the Ferrari was not the first of the season. In the French Grand Prix, Mercedes’ Valtteri Bottas was involved in an incident with Ferrari’s Sebastian Vettel which left the Finn with significant damage.
But at Silverstone it was Hamilton’s turn to face the wrath of Ferrari, this time dealt out by Raikkonen. The Ferrari driver, who went on to take third place, was given a ten-second penalty for causing the collision. This highlighted the generosity of the five-second penalty Vettel received two weeks ago. Perhaps the Stewards were responding to criticism they encountered for being too lenient in France, or perhaps this collision was considered more severe than Vettel’s. Either way, it is clear from the stark difference of these two punishments that the Stewards are cracking down on incidents like these.
Regardless of the penalties to Ferrari, the Mercedes team are feeling victimised. After The race, which was won by Vettel, Hamilton avoided interviews and headed straight for the Green Room. On the podium, the angry driver described the collision as “interesting tactics” from Ferrari and his boss Toto Wolff reinforced this by saying that this was “the second time we got taken out and that’s a lot of constructor points”. Wolff went on to say that people must make a judgement as to whether Ferrari’s actions were “deliberate or incompetence”. Raikkonen took responsibility for the accident but his wife Minttu escalated the tension.
The fitness model posted on instagram “if you cry like a girl when you lose, do ballet.” This comment referring to Hamilton’s reaction after the race was not only belittling but incredibly ignorant. Anyone who has seen the ballet dancer Sergei Polunin’s documentary ‘Dancer’ will know that ballet is not to be taken lightly. This documentary destroys the stereotypical image of male dancers being weak and effeminate and conveys the gruelling nature of the art form. By referring to Hamilton as acting “like a girl”, Mrs Raikkonen not only expresses a view that women are the weaker sex but that this type of supposedly feminine fragility belongs in ballet. It is sad to see such immature comments.
Feelings will be running high in Hockenheim in two weeks’ time.
Wheels on Fire 77 