RESOLVING THE LEDGER
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Lewis Hamilton is is third in the drivers' championship, 28 points clear of Ferrari team-mate Charles Leclerc in fifth [Getty Images]
Lewis Hamilton says Ferrari's delay in moving team-mate Charles Leclerc out of his way could have cost him second place at Sunday's Dutch Grand Prix.
Hamilton finished fourth in Zandvoort, with Mercedes taking second and third - championship leader Kimi Antonelli finishing as runner-up after his Mercedes team-mate George Russell was ordered to let him past.
Hamilton came up behind Leclerc mid-race when he was on fresher tyres and asked to be let through so he could optimise his race against the Mercedes drivers.
But after asking Leclerc to pit, the Monegasque resisted, was left out for a further lap, and then ordered to come in again.
Hamilton said over the radio at the time: "Great way of wasting time, guys. Great job."
Hamilton later caught Russell in the closing stages of the race but ran out of time to pass him, his attempts hindered by a late virtual safety car.
McLaren's Lando Norris won the race.
Hamilton, who is 59 points behind championship leader Antonelli, said the race was "definitely frustrating".
Norris beats Antonelli to claim final Dutch GP win
Russell impresses as Norris shines - driver ratings
"I'm here to win and i think this team can win," Hamilton said.
"We couldn't win this race but to win championships you have to pick up every point and the last few races have been difficult with penalties and stuff.
"And then today I lost several seconds behind Charles, which I think ultimately could have made the difference in the end.
"My goal is to try and lead this team to the championship. We've got some work to do, for sure."
He contrasted Ferrari's actions with those of Mercedes.
With Russell in second, and caught by his team-mate Antonelli and the two Ferraris behind, Mercedes ordered the Briton out of the way of his team-mate late in the race. That was to ensure Antonelli lost no time and consolidated second place.
Hamilton said: "What's clear is I'm looking at them and seeing Mercedes. They executed. They got the car, they are fighting for the championship and did it straight away.
"Here, sitting back, it's something that we need to discuss."
Ferrari team principal Frederic Vasseur said: "If I look at the race now, I can do it frankly, but my issue is that we didn't tell Lewis that we were expecting him to go to the end, and it was not a matter of pushing.
"We didn't want to tell [Hamilton] the strategy at this stage, because we didn't want to disclose it to the competitors, because we wanted to keep him on track until the end [of the race].
"He was able to keep Antonelli behind him, and I think it would have been the right call. Charles was supposed to pit. We extended one lap, and it was a kind of confusion, but I'm not worried about this - everybody will be back in the briefing, they will have a clear picture about the race."
Hamilton also urged Ferrari to upgrade their engine as soon as possible.
"The one thing I'm definitely really proud of the team for bringing an upgrade here this weekend.," he said.
"We are getting closer to them, but it's just half a season we've been down in power.
"We really need to pick up the power if we're going to be anywhere near trying to fight for them, closing the gap to them."
He said Ferrari were losing 0.4secs on the straights to Mercedes at Zandvoort.
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