News Summary
- Lewis Hamilton said Charles Leclerc races him harder than drivers from rival teams and drew a parallel with Leclerc’s years alongside Sebastian Vettel and Carlos Sainz.
- Hamilton pointed to the start in Singapore, where he believes Leclerc had the inside line to take the lead from Max Verstappen before backing out.
- Ferrari team principal Fred Vasseur has reportedly spoken to both drivers separately. Hamilton wants further talks and says Ferrari has not asked him to stay quiet.
Does Charles Leclerc race his Ferrari teammate harder than he races other drivers? Lewis Hamilton answered with a “Yes” at Interlagos on Thursday. What made the answer go beyond his own run-in with Leclerc in Mexico was what followed. Hamilton named Sebastian Vettel and Carlos Sainz, the two drivers who shared a Ferrari garage with Leclerc before him.
“Definitely different. If you look at the team-mates, it’s the same with Sebastian, it’s the same with Carlos,” Hamilton said.
The example put to Hamilton was the start in Singapore. In his view, Leclerc was far enough alongside Max Verstappen on the inside at Turn 1 to take the lead and chose to back out. Leclerc fought Verstappen hard at the next round in Austin, passing him around the outside through the Esses. Hamilton’s comparison concerned the room Leclerc was prepared to leave at the start in Singapore and how hard he pushed against the other Ferrari in Mexico.
From Vettel at Interlagos to Sainz at Monza
One of Leclerc’s most costly clashes with a Ferrari teammate came at this same circuit. At Interlagos in 2019, he and Vettel made contact with six laps remaining and both retired. Four years later at Monza, Ferrari let Leclerc and Sainz race for the final podium place. Both locked up as the fight continued into the closing laps. Sainz held third by 0.184 seconds, with Leclerc fourth.
Mexico produced a different outcome. Hamilton started from pole and Leclerc from third. Both Ferraris went off at Turn 4 on the opening lap, Leclerc rejoined ahead and Verstappen moved between them. The stewards gave Leclerc a five-second penalty for leaving the track and gaining a lasting advantage. Verstappen won, Hamilton finished second and Leclerc fourth.
Hamilton believed Ferrari had the pace for a one-two. Leclerc accepted that the penalty was deserved, but said the situation became harder to resolve once Verstappen was between the cars. He said he had received unclear feedback from Ferrari about what to do with the position.
Hamilton wants more talks and stands by his radio comments
“Naturally I was frustrated, and I’m still frustrated,” Hamilton told at Interlagos. “We will have those when the time permits,” he said of the conversations he wants Ferrari to have.
Team principal Fred Vasseur had already spoken briefly to both drivers separately. Hamilton’s concern is how Ferrari protects a chance to win after the work it has done to bring the car closer to the front.
Hamilton also addressed criticism of his radio messages in Mexico, when he argued that five seconds did too little to offset the advantage Leclerc had gained. He rejected the suggestion that his remarks were calculated. He described making those calls at around 200 mph with his heart rate near 170, and said Ferrari had not asked him to stop speaking out.
“I’m not gonna be silenced,” Hamilton said.
At the São Paulo Grand Prix, the next test for Ferrari will come if both drivers have a shot at the same corner with a race result on the line. In Mexico, the radio exchange continued long after Verstappen had split the two cars. By then, Ferrari’s chance to control the race from the front had already slipped away.
GRANDE PRÊMIO is covering every session of the São Paulo Grand Prix live from Interlagos. Follow our on-site coverage in Formula 1.
