Lewis Hamilton has called for "serious talks" at Ferrari after his opening lap incident with Charles Leclerc at the Mexico City Grand Prix, while team principal Frederic Vasseur suggested there was not enough "respect" given. Leclerc attacked Hamilton around the outside going into Turn 4 but outbraked himself and cut the corner to take the lead, while Hamilton lost out to Red Bull's Max Verstappen after briefly going off track. The stewards gave Leclerc a five-second time penalty which allowed Verstappen to overtake him during the pit stop phase, going on to win the race while Hamilton finished second and Leclerc in fourth.
"Ultimately, it was that, that lost us the win. I think we have to have some serious talks behind the scenes, for sure," said Hamilton. "But the good thing is the team are working really hard.
We've really improved our car. We're on the old engine at the weekend as well, so good result, good points. Shame we didn't get a win, some wins, some losses." On the team radio during a red flag period for Valtteri Bottas' big crash in his Cadillac, Hamilton stated "we've got big problems" in reference to the Lap 1 incident.
Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player A frustrated Vasseur says his discussion with the drivers ahead of this weekend's Sao Paulo Grand Prix will be "a matter of respect". When asked if he could trust his drivers for not putting their individual objectives above the team's, Vasseur said: "This is typically what means respect. "They are not working for themselves, they are working for a group.
They are working for a lot of sponsors. They are working for the 2,000 people of the company. "The guys, when we had to push for the upgrades, they were working night and day.
We have to keep this in mind." Hamilton and Leclerc have found themselves fighting together several times since becoming Ferrari team-mates at the start of 2025. After being forced wide by Leclerc at the Italian Grand Prix in September, Hamilton accused Ferrari of having "no rules" and demanded "rules of engagement" are required, which he had at Mercedes. Following their latest incident in Mexico, he said: "I don't know what needs to happen now, how we discuss things when we go back.
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