Journalist shares what he noticed in Ferrari’s hospitality after the Charles Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton moment
A journalist who was at Ferrari’s hospitality during the Mexico City Grand Prix shared what he saw after the clash between Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc on the first lap.
Hamilton was ahead as they approached turn four, but Leclerc went off track because he took the corner too fast. Instead of giving the position back, Leclerc stayed ahead and took the lead. Hamilton also went off track but rejoined properly, coming back behind Max Verstappen.
Hamilton wasn’t happy with the FIA’s decision to give Leclerc just a five-second penalty instead of the usual 10 seconds. The stewards said they took into account that Hamilton also left the track. After the red flag, Hamilton told his engineer that Ferrari had “big problems” over what happened. Now, new details about the behind-the-scenes talks have come out.
Journalist Edd Straw, speaking on The Race’s YouTube channel, said he was at Ferrari team boss Frederic Vasseur’s media briefing when Leclerc arrived looking very upset. “Vasseur isn’t going to treat them like naughty kids but he will be firm,” Straw said. Leclerc marched into the drivers’ room, and Vasseur went in after him. That’s when their talks started. Meanwhile, Hamilton was starting his press conference, sticking to his strong opinion on the incident.
Leclerc admitted in his post-race interview that he deserved the five-second penalty “in a way,” but didn’t fully take the blame. “It was confusing because we both missed Turn 4,” he said. “I stayed ahead, then Max passed Lewis. I asked what I should do and kept the position, taking the penalty.”
Hamilton said he’d discuss his frustrations with Ferrari and Leclerc privately but was still unhappy about losing a possible one-two finish because of that move. “I’m happy because this guy just won the championship, but I’m also really upset,” he said. “We lost important points. The whole team worked hard, and we had the speed to finish first and second today.”
He added, “Going into turn four, we were first and second. If we’d just kept positions, who knows what could’ve happened? But when your teammate works against you and you lose spots, it’s tough.”
Hamilton continued, “Every choice you make affects all the people behind the scenes—the whole team. Working together is our job and part of our contract. We could have done that today but didn’t. So it’s a shame we lost like this, and unless serious talks happen, it might happen again.”