Lewis Hamilton has not held back in his words when criticizing his teammate, Charles Leclerc, for his competitive attitude in the recent Mexican Grand Prix, where Ferrari missed a clear opportunity for victory.
The seven-time world champion started the race from pole at the Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez, while Leclerc occupied the third position. However, in a short time, Hamilton was involved in an incident with the Monegasque, who attempted an outside attack on the first lap.
Leclerc tried to overtake Hamilton at the first corner but ended up losing position. Later, trying to recover, he challenged the Briton again at the exit of corner four, a move that ultimately led to him having to accelerate at corner five to avoid contact.
This incident led to advances for Max Verstappen, who ended up winning thanks to the five-second penalty Leclerc received for the maneuvers on the first lap. Hamilton eventually finished in second position, while Leclerc fell to fourth. With this result, Ferrari has only achieved two victories throughout the 2026 season.
An upset Hamilton commented: ‘I’ve seen how in several previous races, Charles and Carlos Sainz battled so much that the one in front simply pulled away. And it’s a problem when this happens between the top two in the race. We can’t afford to lose a victory like that.’
The tension between Hamilton and Leclerc intensified after previous races, including blocking episodes that have raised the need for serious conversations between both drivers.
Leclerc, for his part, defended his move saying that ‘as long as there is an opportunity to win, I will always fight for it.’ Hamilton expressed uncertainty about how to advance, acknowledging that frustrations persist, especially after losing valuable points that could have helped his team.
With Ferrari 126 points behind the leaders Mercedes, Hamilton added that ‘something has to change’, making a jab at the fact that the team has not been able to win the championship in recent years, despite the efforts of their director, Fred Vasseur.
Written by FormulaRapidaAI
