Lewis Hamilton calls for “serious conversations” within Ferrari after an opening-lap battle with teammate Charles Leclerc compromised what he believes could have been a one-two finish at the 2026 F1 Mexico City GP.
The seven-time World Champion started Sunday’s race from pole position, while Leclerc lined up in P3. After strong getaways from both drivers, the pair went wheel-to-wheel into Turn 4, both ultimately running wide. Hamilton rejoined the circuit, but he soon lost another position to Max Verstappen, as Leclerc cut across the grass and took the lead.
Leclerc was subsequently handed a five-second penalty for the incident, while Hamilton shared his frustration and anger over the team radio. However, a red flag later created opportunities, and Hamilton made the most of the restart to move ahead of Leclerc and reclaim second. He then spent the closing stages pressuring Verstappen but was unable to find a way past, ultimately finishing P2.
Hamilton: “I think we had the car to win today”
After claiming Ferrari’s first pole of the season, Hamilton was confident that the team had the pace to fight for victory at the 2026 F1 Mexico City GP, before it unraveled.
“Yeah, it was very eventful. Had a good start, and I think we had the car to win today. Unfortunately, we had the car to easily have first and second, but due to the first two corners, that kind of went away,” he said, speaking during the post-race press conference.
“And then after that, we just gave it basically to Max, and then all they had to do was just stay ahead of us, which he did a good job of doing. It’s a shame because we lost good points for the team. It’s something we have to take offline.”
A need for clearer teamwork and communication
Notably, the incident in Mexico City was not the first on-track clash between the Ferrari teammates this season. Hamilton and Leclerc also engaged in a clean yet risky battle at the Chinese GP, before another close exchange at Monza saw Leclerc force his teammate wide through the opening corners.
When asked how racing alongside Leclerc compared to his previous teammates, Hamilton highlighted the importance of putting the team’s interests first.
“You know, I think the core thing to remember, which maybe comes with age, is that 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 is a part of our job and a part of our contract. We have to work as a team, which we could have easily done today. So, it’s a shame to see us lose this, as we did.”
He continued: “That will just continue unless action is taken, if a real deep, serious conversation is had. So, it shouldn’t happen moving forward. Of course, I’ve had close battles with teammates in the past, and you can’t always get it right, but nine times out of ten we should be able to. So, I think we’ll take it offline and we’ll have some good conversations, hopefully. For sure, it won’t be easy, but it must be done.”
Hamilton on overtaking struggles during 2026 F1 Mexico City GP
Asked whether he was surprised that Leclerc had not given the position back, Hamilton shared:
“How surprised was I? At that point, it didn’t even matter. We had let Max past, and the race was done from there.”
The Brit went on to criticize the 2026 engine setting, arguing that it limited drivers’ ability to overtake at the Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez.
“You can’t overtake here. I think it’s something the FIA need to do, and it’s just quite bad. I’m sure these guys would agree. We have this clip at the end of the straight where you can’t go past a certain speed, so everyone just follows. It’s the silliest thing when you are behind and you have a little bit more power in the slipstream. You should be able to go past that to have a chance to overtake.
“The engine can go faster. It’s just they have these silly clips. I mean, it’s the worst engine profile setting that I think they’ve probably ever had in this sport, and it doesn’t provide great racing. So today you probably didn’t see much overtaking, unfortunately, because of that.”
Hamilton also acknowledged that the circuit’s high altitude made following another car more challenging, with the thinner air reducing downforce and making it harder to stay close.
“Obviously, the starts were fun, but it’s a very hard track to follow with the thin air and low downforce. I gave it everything to try and get close to Max, but maybe they needed… I don’t know if they need to change the last corner because it’s so quick. I don’t know. There could be a change to the track, maybe, to enable us to have a little bit better racing. But everyone having this this year just diminishes any opportunity of that.”
Hamilton questions Ferrari’s handling of teammate tensions
Despite previously calling for Ferrari to introduce written rules of engagement following the Italian GP, Hamilton revealed that the team still lacked clear guidelines on how its drivers should race one another.
“I don’t know what needs to happen now, how we discuss things when we go back. I’m not quite sure how I want to engage in that. Of course, the frustrations are today. I’m happy because this guy [Kimi Antonelli] just won the championship, so I’m really torn because, on one side, I’m happy, and on the other side, I’m really pissed.”
Beyond losing a potential one-two finish, Ferrari’s position in the Constructors’ Championship made the missed opportunity even more significant. The team currently sits 126 points behind Mercedes with just four rounds remaining and 172 points still up for grabs.
With that in mind, Hamilton added: “We lost valuable points, and we, as a team, worked so hard. We could have easily had a one-two today. Really, we had the pace to do so. We’re going into Turn 4 first and second. If we just hold 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 will change anything from Charles’ side, I don’t know. We’ve just got to figure it out, but something needs to change for sure.”
Lessons from his time at Mercedes
Further discussing Ferrari’s handling of the situation, Hamilton compared the team’s approach with his experience at Mercedes, where he shared a particularly intense title rivalry with Nico Rosberg.
“I mean, I’ve had way worse times at Mercedes,” he began.“There were some really bad moments, but no, I don’t really see there being huge differences. I think it was managed well at Mercedes, and I think Fred’s doing his best. I think Fred came and spoke to me before the race, and I think he was nervous. I think he just wanted us… Of course, he wants these two drivers to do well.
“Yeah, I mean, I think from my side, if I’m coming from behind and I’m taking all the risk and it ends up that we lose as a team, then I think I 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. I think we could have easily, as I said, had that one-two today, which would have been huge for the team and for everyone back at the factory who’s worked so hard to bring us these upgrades. I don’t really know what will be done because up until now nothing really has been done. So, yeah, we’ll see.”
“I think it’s a mentality thing”: Hamilton criticises Leclerc’s approach
Asked whether Leclerc’s relative inexperience in fighting for race victories alongside a teammate had contributed to the Mexico City GP incident, Hamilton reflected on the Monegasque’s previous battles with former Ferrari driver Carlos Sainz.
“I mean, before I joined this team, when I was at Mercedes, I watched and witnessed the back and forth between Charles and Carlos [Sainz] several races, where they were battling so much that the person ahead just pulled away, and they had the pace to actually win. But it is one thing when that’s happening in fourth and fifth, as opposed to first and second, and you lose the win. That’s significant.
“The guy is 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. It should be us having, getting that one-two. As I said, it’s still a good feeling.
“You know, Silverstone, I could have gone all kamikaze on him and taken him off and lost us the win, but instead the one-two was there. I think we got the one-two. Was it one-three, first and third, one-two? Whatever. For me, I’m happy for the team to have experienced that, but I’m hopeful we’ll work towards a better place, a better working place, in the future.”
