Lewis Hamilton’s strong radio message to Charles Leclerc comes out after penalty at the Mexican GP
Lewis Hamilton was visibly upset and let his frustration out over the team radio after a tough battle with his Ferrari teammate, Charles Leclerc, right at the start of the Mexico City Grand Prix.
The race kicked off with a lot of action and drama. Starting from pole position, Hamilton faced constant pressure from Leclerc. They raced side by side for a few corners, but both went off track. In the end, Leclerc came out ahead while Hamilton dropped to third place behind Max Verstappen, which left Lewis feeling very annoyed.
At the beginning, Hamilton managed to keep his lead going into Turn 1, but by Turn 4, Leclerc was right behind him. Taking the outside line, Leclerc braked late and ended up going off track, dragging Hamilton off with him, though Hamilton didn’t slide as far. Leclerc crossed the grass and took the lead, while Hamilton rejoined the track sooner but was immediately passed by Verstappen.
Hamilton quickly spoke on the radio, clearly unhappy: “Got pushed out by my own teammate.”
The stewards checked out what happened, but it soon became clear Hamilton was stuck behind Leclerc on older, slower tyres. Eventually, Leclerc got a 5-second penalty, but since running in clean air is important to keep the car cool, Hamilton was still frustrated.
“The problem with the five-second penalty is he’s got clean air,” Hamilton said. “He doesn’t have to manage his tires like the rest of us.”
Hamilton’s frustration grew as he felt he lost his chance to fight for the win because of his teammate’s move.
“The stewards are basically handing Charles this win,” he added, pointing out they had agreed on fair racing during the drivers’ briefing.
The stewards explained their decision: both cars entered Turn 4 too fast, so neither could make the corner properly. Since Hamilton had to go off track on the inside, Leclerc wasn’t entitled to claim the corner, but he did overtake while off track. That led to a penalty—normally 10 seconds, but reduced because Hamilton also went off track early in the race.
Later, when the race was stopped on lap 46 after a big crash involving Valtteri Bottas, Hamilton was still clearly upset. On Ferrari’s radio, he said, “We’ve got big problems. Big, big problems.”