Lewis Hamilton demands talks after clash with Charles Leclerc

Ferrari drivers clash in Turn 4

Lewis Hamilton demanded "serious talks" at Ferrari after an opening-lap clash with Charles Leclerc at the Mexican Grand Prix cost the team a potential win. Hamilton started from pole and held the lead through the first corner sequence, but Leclerc challenged from third after George Russell lost momentum ahead of Turn 1. The Monegasque driver attacked around the outside of Turn 4, which resulted in both drivers going off track. Leclerc cut across the grass at Turn 5 to stay ahead while Hamilton lost momentum and fell behind Max Verstappen. Hamilton finished second, just eight tenths behind the winner, while Leclerc ended the race in fourth after suffering a heavy lock-up into Turn 1 following the red flag for Valtteri Bottas’ crash. Hamilton felt the team possessed the pace to win but admitted the result was not meant to be.

Hamilton expressed intense frustration via team radio to engineer Carlo Santi, arguing that Leclerc had clean air and did not have to manage the car like the rest of the Ferrari team members. He also told reporters, "The stewards are basically handing Charles this win." Hamilton noted that in the drivers’ briefing, the agreement was to give positions back if a driver cut the grass at the first or second complex of corners. He also mentioned that in 2025, he received a 10-second penalty for the same move that Leclerc performed while battling Verstappen. After the race, Hamilton told Nico Rosberg that the team would take the matter offline to figure out what they can do in the background.

Stewards mitigate Leclerc penalty

The FIA stewards issued a five-second penalty to Leclerc for gaining an advantage. They reviewed positioning and marshalling system data, video, and in-car video evidence before making the decision. They determined that both cars entered Turn 4 with excessive speed and that neither would have been able to make the corner on track. The stewards reduced the baseline 10-second penalty because car 44 was also off track on the inside of car 16 during the first lap. Verstappen responded to the FIA verdict on the Red Bull team radio, saying, "Ha! I thought all the new penalties were 10s."

Leclerc argued the battle was "very much on the limit" and that he did not make contact with Hamilton. He explained that he did not yield the position because he would have also had to let Verstappen through. Leclerc worked to build a 5.243s gap to Verstappen, but his pitstop was 6.3s longer than the Red Bull driver’s. Leclerc finished fourth after encountering marbles on the track that caused a heavy lock-up and damaged the SF-26 tyres, specifically the front-left.

Leclerc defends race strategy

Leclerc admitted that after the incident, he asked the team "what should I do now?" but found the situation confusing. He stated that while he paid the penalty, the decision regarding whether it was enough remains debatable. He noted that the fight through Turns 1 to 3 was very close, but he expected the battle for the lead. Following the red flag, Hamilton overtook Leclerc at the standing restart, which contributed to the Monegasque driver’s drop to fourth after Kimi Antonelli also passed him.

Hamilton praised the team’s progress despite the car running on the old engine. Ferrari outscored Mercedes 30 to 23 in Mexico, reducing the constructors’ championship gap to 126 points. Kimi Antonelli secured third place to become the youngest world champion in history. Hamilton intends to address the incident during internal debriefs to figure out how to handle such situations.