Lewis Hamilton has launched a fierce criticism of Charles Leclerc following their controversial battle at the 2026 Mexico City Grand Prix, questioning his Ferrari teammate’s mentality and calling for changes to the way the two drivers race each other. The seven-time Formula 1 world champion believes their opening-lap confrontation cost Ferrari a potential victory and has even recalled an incident at Silverstone to illustrate why the team’s interests must come before individual ambitions.
What should have been an opportunity for Ferrari to return to winning ways instead turned into another flashpoint between its two drivers. Lewis Hamilton’s comments after the race reflected his frustration at the lost result, with the British driver openly questioning Charles Leclerc’s approach and the consequences of their rivalry for the entire team.
The decisive confrontation unfolded at Turn 4, where the two Ferrari drivers fought aggressively for position. Lewis Hamilton forced Charles Leclerc wide, with the Monegasque subsequently cutting the corner. The resulting penalty concerned the advantage gained without returning the position, rather than the mere attempt to make a race-winning overtake.
Lewis Hamilton also ran wide and was overtaken by Max Verstappen, complicating any attempt by Charles Leclerc to return the lead. The incident ultimately contributed to Ferrari losing its advantage at the front, despite having a car capable of fighting for victory.
Lewis Hamilton says Ferrari handed Max Verstappen the Mexico GP victory
Speaking after the Mexican Grand Prix, Lewis Hamilton argued that Ferrari had the pace to secure a one-two finish but had allowed that opportunity to disappear during the opening corners.
“It was a very eventful race. I made a good start and we were absolutely in a position to win today. We had the pace to finish first and second quite easily, but because of what happened in the first two corners, that opportunity slipped away. From that point onwards, we basically handed the victory to Max, and all they had to do was stay ahead.”
The seven-time world champion was particularly disappointed by the points Ferrari had lost, insisting that competition between teammates should never come at the expense of the team’s overall result.
“It’s a real shame because we lost some very important points for the team. It’s absolutely fine to race against your teammate, provided that doesn’t damage the team’s opportunity to achieve the best possible result. The team’s interests must always come first. Today we lost the victory, and that’s disrespectful to all the people working so hard at the factory.”
For Lewis Hamilton, the frustration extended beyond his own missed opportunity. He believed the entire Ferrari workforce deserved to celebrate a victory after the effort invested in making the car competitive.
“We lost valuable points, and we as a team have worked so hard. We could easily have achieved a one-two today. We really had the pace to do it. We were going into Turn 4 in first and second positions. If only we had maintained our positions, I think anything could have happened in the race.”
The British driver then made his frustration with Charles Leclerc even clearer, suggesting that their internal rivalry had directly compromised Ferrari’s chances.
“But when your teammate works against you and then you lose positions like that, it’s definitely tough. So we’ll discuss it offline, and it’s really not worth saying too much more. We don’t have any rules of engagement, and whether that will change anything on Charles’s side, I don’t know. We just need to sort it out, but something definitely has to change.”
The comments add further pressure on Ferrari to establish a clearer understanding between its drivers. Team principal Fred Vasseur has also called for respect following the Mexico GP confrontation, with the consequences of the incident extending well beyond the two cockpits.
Lewis Hamilton wanted a 10-second penalty for Charles Leclerc
Another major source of Lewis Hamilton’s anger was the punishment imposed on Charles Leclerc after the opening-lap incident. The Monegasque received a five-second time penalty, but his teammate believed the circumstances justified a 10-second sanction.
“During the drivers’ briefing, we had clearly discussed that if you went wide at Turn 1, you would have to give the position back. In fact, last year I received a ten-second penalty myself for exactly the same manoeuvre he made today.”
“In the end, that was the incident that cost us the race. When I realised he wasn’t giving the position back, I wasn’t even surprised. At that point, it didn’t matter any more. We had already allowed Max through and the race was compromised.”
Lewis Hamilton also pointed to the difficulty of overtaking under the current regulations, arguing that the loss of track position had effectively ended Ferrari’s opportunity to control the race.
“With these rules and the power cuts from the engine mapping, it’s almost impossible to overtake on track, so once we lost the lead, it was over.”
Throughout the race, Lewis Hamilton repeatedly questioned the FIA stewards’ decision to give Charles Leclerc a five-second penalty rather than the 10 seconds he believed were appropriate. His radio complaints, including the accusation that the stewards were effectively handing the victory to his teammate, illustrated just how strongly he felt about the situation.
The FIA’s explanation of Charles Leclerc’s five-second penalty provides further context for the stewards’ decision and the circumstances that influenced the punishment.
Both Ferrari drivers are determined to win, and neither can reasonably be expected to abandon his ambitions without a clear understanding of the team’s priorities. Would maintaining their positions during the opening stages have guaranteed a Ferrari one-two finish? Not necessarily, but it would have preserved the opportunity to fight for that result.
For Charles Leclerc, finishing second is not the ultimate objective. The same is true of Lewis Hamilton. Yet allowing Max Verstappen to take advantage of their confrontation represented the most damaging consequence for Ferrari, raising fresh questions about how the team can manage two exceptionally competitive drivers who are both desperate for victories.
Lewis Hamilton questions Charles Leclerc’s mentality after Mexico GP clash
Lewis Hamilton’s criticism became even more personal when he was asked about Charles Leclerc’s experience and approach to racing. Rather than attributing the incident to immaturity, the seven-time world champion argued that the real issue concerned his teammate’s mentality.
“Every decision you make in the car has an impact on hundreds of people who work for us. Working as a team is part of our job and our contract. Today we could easily have managed it.”
“He’s 29 years old, so I don’t think it’s an issue of inexperience or age. It’s a question of mentality. It’s as though the approach is ‘either I win or nobody wins’, and it shouldn’t work like that.”
Those remarks represented a particularly strong criticism of Charles Leclerc, suggesting that Lewis Hamilton believes the Ferrari drivers need a different approach when they are competing for the leading positions.
The disagreement also places their wider relationship under scrutiny. Their performances throughout the 2026 campaign can be explored through the Charles Leclerc vs Lewis Hamilton head-to-head statistics, which compare the Ferrari teammates across qualifying, race results and other performance measures.
Lewis Hamilton recalls Silverstone: “I could have gone kamikaze”
To reinforce his argument, Lewis Hamilton referred to an earlier encounter with Charles Leclerc at the British Grand Prix, explaining that he could have taken a far more aggressive approach at Silverstone but had instead considered the consequences for Ferrari.
“At Silverstone, I could have gone full throttle, kamikaze-style, into him and pushed him off the track, costing us the victory. But instead there was a P1-P2, and I think we got a P1-P2, or was it a P1-P3? I’m happy that the team got to experience that. I’m hopeful that we’ll work towards a better position in the future.”
The Silverstone comparison was intended to underline the importance of preserving a strong team result rather than risking everything in an internal battle. However, the circumstances of that race were not identical, with Lewis Hamilton not particularly close to Charles Leclerc before the Safety Car was deployed.
His public criticism nevertheless highlighted the growing tension within Ferrari, particularly because the remarks went beyond the specific events in Mexico and questioned his teammate’s broader approach to racing.
Lewis Hamilton brings up Charles Leclerc’s previous battles with Carlos Sainz
Lewis Hamilton also referred to the period when Charles Leclerc shared the Ferrari garage with Carlos Sainz, revealing that he had closely followed their on-track battles and had noticed situations in which their rivalry appeared to compromise the team’s opportunities.
“I’ve watched and witnessed, over several races, the battles between Charles and Carlos. They fought each other so intensely that whoever was ahead ended up pulling away, even though they both had the pace needed to fight for victory.”
The British driver then explained why he considered the situation in Mexico considerably more serious than similar battles further down the order.
“There’s a big difference, though, between seeing something like that when you’re fighting for fourth or fifth place and when it happens in first and second, costing you the victory. That’s far from insignificant. We need serious, in-depth discussions with the engines switched off.”
By bringing up Charles Leclerc’s previous battles with Carlos Sainz, Lewis Hamilton made clear that his concerns were not confined to a single incident at the Mexico City Grand Prix.
The comments also reinforced his belief that Ferrari needs more effective internal discussions if it is to avoid repeating a situation in which its drivers’ individual ambitions undermine the team’s chances of winning.
With both Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc determined to fight for victories, finding that balance is becoming an increasingly important challenge for Ferrari. The Mexico City Grand Prix demonstrated how quickly a promising opportunity can disappear when two teammates are fighting for the same prize.
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