Lewis Hamilton maintains Ferrari needs further talks to refine its rules of engagement, backing Charles Leclerc’s claims he runs harder than rival teams’ drivers.
Hamilton and Leclerc clashed on the first lap of last weekend’s race in Mexico, with both drivers going off track at Turn 4, which ultimately gave Max Verstappen a golden opportunity to claim victory and cost Ferrari a possible 1-2 victory, instead the duo finished second and fourth.
Hamilton was infuriated by the harshness of Leclerc’s racing on the opening lap, only for the Monegasque to remain in the lead for good as he cut the track at Turn 4. Leclerc received just a five-second penalty for gaining a lasting advantage, with mitigation bringing that punishment down by 10 seconds.
Their fight in Mexico has further fueled suggestions that Leclerc appears to be racing his teammate harder than anyone else, after a Singapore Grand Prix in which Leclerc fell back at the start while fully on the inside of polesitter Max Verstappen. Leclerc, however, faced the Dutchman hard at the following United States Grand Prix in Austin, overtaking the Red Bull driver outside the COTA Esses.
Asked if the idea of Leclerc running harder than the other drivers is something Hamilton also noticed, the seven-time world champion replied: “Yes. I see what you see. In Singapore he was completely inside in Turn 1, he had taken the lead and he dropped back. It was definitely different.”
“But I mean, if you look at the teammates, it was the same with Sebastian (Vettel). It was the same with Carlos (Sainz).
Photo by: Colin McMaster / LAT Images via Getty Images
As emotions ran high, Hamilton demanded talks to clarify the team’s rules of engagement and warned of “big problems” for the team. Motorsport.com understands that team principal Fred Vasseur spoke briefly to both drivers, albeit separately, after feeling that the events in Mexico demonstrated a lack of respect for the 2,000-strong team.
But with Vasseur having returned to Europe between races and Leclerc spending time with his family following the birth of his daughter, Hamilton welcomes further discussions with Leclerc and their boss on Friday.
“Naturally I was frustrated, and I still am,” he said when asked by Motorsport.com if he saw the events in Mexico in a different light now that they have had time to calm down. “So we have to have conversations. We will have them when time permits.
“We had the opportunity to win for the team. The team has done an incredible job of making improvements this year and I think they’ve done an incredible job. We’ve scored more points than any other team in the last three or four races. We easily could have gone 1-2, so we definitely have to work to make sure that doesn’t happen again.”
Hamilton was also criticized for openly lobbying for his teammate to get a bigger penalty than the five seconds he was held up at his pit stop, because cutting the track gave Leclerc a far greater advantage than at a circuit where overtaking proved extremely difficult.
But the 41-year-old said he “will not be silenced”. “I don’t really care how anyone feels about what I said. I wear my heart on my sleeve and say what I feel in the moment,” he said.
“I saw something that someone was saying that the things I say were calculated, and I just want to combat that with the fact that when you’re racing, your heart rate is like 170. You’re driving 200 miles an hour. You don’t have time to be calculated in what you say and think about what the media is going to write, you don’t think about that.
“Of course, there are times when you say things and maybe you might regret it later, but that’s not the case, and I will never apologize for being authentic and real. I’m not going to be silenced. I’ve never been silenced. I’ve never been asked not to say anything (by the team), and that’s how it is.”
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