Ferrari should have signed Gianpiero Lambiase for…

Formula 1 broadcaster and host of the official press conferences Tom Clarkson believes Ferrari missed a trick by not signing Gianpiero Lambiase to work alongside seven-time champion Lewis Hamilton, describing the engineer as the ideal "buffer" for the British driver.

Hamilton endured a frustrating Belgian Grand Prix at Spa-Francorchamps. Although he recovered to finish fourth, his race was compromised by an opening-lap clash with his former Mercedes team-mate George Russell, which resulted in a five-second penalty.

In addition to the penalty, Hamilton questioned Ferrari's strategy over the radio and endured a messy pitstop, which meant the team was unable to adjust his damaged front wing.

The tense radio exchanges prompted a discussion on the F1 Nation podcast. With Lambiase, four-time champion Max Verstappen's long-time race engineer, set to move to McLaren, Clarkson argued that Ferrari should have snapped him up.

"McLaren did very well to get GP Lambiase because if he was ripe for the picking to leave Red Bull, I think GP would have been the perfect person at Ferrari," Clarkson said.

"Fluent in Italian, a brilliant engineer, completely fluent in English. Imagine if he was the person talking to Lewis Hamilton and was able to be the buffer between what we're discussing now, the gravitas of Lewis Hamilton and the rest of the team. I'm really surprised Ferrari didn't go and get him."

Former racing driver and pundit Alex Brundle was more on the fence about the idea, questioning whether Lambiase's famously blunt communication style would have suited Hamilton.

Gianpiero Lambiase, Red Bull Racing (Photo by: Kym Illman / Getty Images)

"That would either really work immediately, or really not work immediately. When you look at the culture of Red Bull and the way the drivers are brought through, the way that they hone the drivers through the junior series, it's very much along the lines of the driver is told what's required of them, excellence is expected, and they move forward," Brundle explained.

"GP, even with the way that Max delivers and the way that Max operates, still doesn't mind going, 'It's childish, Max. I don't like it,' over the radio.

"I cannot imagine Lewis Hamilton tolerating that on the radio. I think he would change what was around him if that was the communication."

Clarkson added: "But I think GP is bright enough to get the best out of whoever it is, whether it's Max Verstappen, Lewis Hamilton or Lando Norris at McLaren."