Lewis Hamilton has criticised team-mate Charles Leclerc for his “do or die” attitude after Ferrari missed out on a straightforward victory at the Formula 1 Mexico Grand Prix. The seven-year world champion started from pole position at the Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez, with Leclerc lining up in third place.
Race Start Incidents and Verstappen’s Victory
Leclerc advanced to second at the start when George Russell lost momentum into Turn 1. The Monegasque driver attacked Hamilton on the outside, hoping to complete the pass down the inside of Turn 2, but ran over the kerb and stayed second.
The battle continued when Leclerc launched another move on the outside of Turn 4. As space quickly disappeared, Leclerc took evasive action by cutting Turn 5 to secure the lead. Consequently, Hamilton was overtaken by Max Verstappen, who inherited first place after Leclerc received a five-second penalty for the opening-lap incident, ultimately winning the race for Red Bull.
Hamilton finished second ahead of newly crowned world champion Kimi Antonelli, while Leclerc crossed the line in fourth. The result left Ferrari stuck on just two race wins for the 2026 campaign.
Hamilton Calls for Team Discussions
Expressing deep frustration, Hamilton told Autosport.com that he had previously witnessed similar battles between Leclerc and Carlos Sainz that allowed competitors to pull away when Ferrari held the winning pace. He noted that fighting intensely in fourth or fifth position differs significantly from squandering a 1-2 finish in first and second.
“The guy is 28 years old, so I don’t think it’s an age thing. I think it’s a mentality thing,” Hamilton stated to Autosport.com. “It’s like, ‘Do or die. Either I win or none of us do’, and it shouldn’t be that. It should be us getting that 1-2.”
Sunday’s encounter followed a series of heated moments between the pair, beginning at Zandvoort, where Hamilton was held up and criticised a lack of team orders. At the subsequent race in Monza, Hamilton lost positions after being forced onto the gravel at Turn 2—an incident Leclerc took responsibility for—prompting Hamilton to declare that “serious talks” are now necessary.
Speaking to Sky Sports after the race, Leclerc defended his driving approach by stating that “there was a gap and when you are fighting for a win, I will always go for it.”
Hamilton admitted he is unsure how discussions will unfold upon returning to the team. He acknowledged feeling torn between celebrating Antonelli’s championship victory and being angry about lost points. He noted that the team lacks official rules of engagement and emphasized that something must change regarding how they race each other, keeping the staff at Maranello in mind as Ferrari trails Mercedes by 126 points.
Addressing team principal Fred Vasseur’s efforts, Hamilton said, “Fred’s doing his best. I think Fred came and spoke to me before the race, and I think he was nervous.” Hamilton added that if he took excessive risks from behind that cost the team, he would have answering to do, whereas being in the lead made the intra-team move unnecessary.
“We’re going into Turn 4 first and second. If we just hold position, I think anything can happen in the race,” Hamilton concluded to Autosport.com. “So, we’ll just talk about it offline, and it’s not really worth saying too much more.”
