Formula 1: Lewis Hamilton criticizes teammate Charles Leclerc

What had happened?

Hamilton took pole position for the race for the first time in a Ferrari, Leclerc started from third place. At the start, Leclerc moved into second place, and Max Verstappen also got off well and moved from fifth place to third place. In the fourth corner, Leclerc attacked Hamilton, who was in the lead, Hamilton braked too hard, slipped and was overtaken by Verstappen. Leclerc, on the other hand, took a shortcut and was the first to get back on the track. He was given a five-second penalty for this. But Hamilton couldn't appease them; he complained about Leclerc several times over the radio.

»The guy is 29 years old, so I don't think it's age. I think it's a question of mentality," Hamilton said about Leclerc in Mexico City. The seven-time world champion announced a clarifying one-on-one meeting. "We don't have any agreements to work together, and I don't know whether that will change anything on Charles' part," he said. "But something definitely has to change."

Leclerc contradicts Hamilton

Leclerc assessed the situation differently. »Of course I could also be annoyed at how much he pushed me off the track in turn one. For me he was also at the absolute limit,” he said. »Ultimately we both made a mistake in turn four. But I think that's just how it is in racing. When you’re fighting for victory, that’s just part of it.”

Hamilton ended up second behind winner Max Verstappen. Leclerc braked during a restart and missed the podium in fourth place. At the race, Kimi Antonelli was crowned the youngest world champion in Formula 1 history (read more about the high-flyer here).

Afterwards, team boss Frédéric Vasseur was mainly annoyed about the missed victory. "If you're in first or second place in turn four, it doesn't even occur to you that you couldn't win the race," he said. »We managed to throw away a victory. This is very frustrating for the 2,000 people who work on this project. He accused both drivers of a lack of respect for the racing team. "Of course I'll have to talk to them," Vasseur said.