Hamilton demands ‘serious talks’ after costly collision with teammate
Lewis Hamilton cut a frustrated figure as he climbed out of his car after finishing second at the Mexico City Grand Prix, declaring that his teammate Charles Leclerc “lost them the win” due to a dramatic first-lap collision.
Hamilton and Leclerc tangled at the fourth corner of the race, with Hamilton arriving in front before being shoved aside as his teammate “left the track and gained an advantage”, according to the stewards.
Ferrari teammates tangle. Fox
While both drivers ran wide, Leclerc was ultimately handed a five-second penalty for the manoeuvre.
But Hamilton claimed the stewards did not hand down a harsh enough penalty as the Monégasque driver sped through into the lead and effectively built enough of a gap in the clean air to negate his penalty in the next pit stop.
The seven-time world champion highlighted the double standard from 2025, when Hamilton was slapped with a much-harsher penalty for the same opening lap move.
“I mean, in [the] drivers’ briefing, we discussed as soon as you go off in turn one, you have to give the position back,” Hamilton pinpointed.
“Obviously, last year I got a 10-second penalty for that same move that (Leclerc) did.
“Ultimately, that lost us the win today.
"We have to have some serious talks behind closed doors."
After the race, Hamilton continued his tirade, saying the team could have inherited a 1-2 victory, but instead their tangle allowed rival Max Verstappen to speed past them to eventually win the race.
“We could have easily had a one-two today. We had the pace to do so,” he continued.
“We’re going into turn four first and second. If we just held position, I think anything can happen in the race.
“But when your teammate works against you, and then you lose positions like that, it’s definitely tough.
“So we’ll just talk about it offline, and it’s not really worth saying too much more. We don’t have rules of engagement.
“And whether or not that would change anything from Charles’ side, I don’t know. We’ve just got to figure out. But something needs to change for sure.”
The incident was the latest and arguably most serious of several flare-ups between Hamilton and Leclerc this season.
Hamilton inferred that he would be discussing the matter with Ferrari team principal Fred Vassuer.
“Fred’s doing his best. Fred came and spoke to me before the race and I think he was nervous, and I think he just wanted us, of course, he wants these two drivers to do well,” the seven-time champion said.
“From my side, if I’m coming from behind, and I’m taking all the risk, and it ends up we lose as a team, then I think I’d have some answering to do because it impacts a lot of people.
"But the other way around, I'm in the lead and it was just unnecessary.
The two Ferrari drivers came together on lap one. Clive Mason
"The core thing to remember, which maybe that comes with age, but every decision you make in the car impacts all the people that work in the background for the whole team.
“So working as a team, part of our job and part of our contract is we have to work as a team, which we could have easily done today. So it’s a shame to see us lose as we did. It will continue unless action is taken.
“The guy’s 28 years old, so I don’t think it’s an age thing. I think it’s a mentality thing. It’s like do or die, either I win or none of us do, and it shouldn’t be that.”
Over the radio during the red flag in Mexico, Hamilton was heard saying they have “big, big problems” within the team.
When informed of his teammate’s comments, Leclerc suggested that the blame was shared.
“I will speak with Lewis. We both didn’t make the corner,” Leclerc said.
“I don’t know if Lewis’ point was for me to get P3 but having the Red Bull second I felt it was worth it to keep the position and see what happened. That’s what I did.
“I could be also unhappy with how much he pushed me off track out of turn one, but it is racing. When you are fighting for a win it is the way it should be.”
For Ferrari, leaving Mexico with a second and fourth place finish will feel woefully inadequate compared to the big results the Scuderia could have picked up with a driver on pole at a track that suited the car well.
Having both drivers in the top spots at turn four, Vassuer admitted he did not expect the ensuing moment.
“Honestly, I’m a bit frustrated because we did a proper step forward in terms of performance the last couple of events. We were 1-2 at turn four. When you are 1-2 at turn four, you don’t imagine that you won’t win the race,” the French team principal said.
“It’s a lot of frustration for me.
“We can discuss ages for this, but it’s not a matter to discuss before if you are on the right-hand side, if you are the left-hand side…it’s a matter of respect.”
