Hamilton calls for Ferrari talks after opening-lap clash costs Mexico victory bid

Lewis Hamilton has called for internal Ferrari discussions after saying his opening-lap battle with Charles Leclerc cost victory in Mexico. BBC Sport reported his comments after Hamilton finished second to Max Verstappen on Sunday.

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The BBC reported that Leclerc took the lead by cutting a chicane, with Hamilton also losing second to Verstappen. Kimi Antonelli finished third, securing the world championship and becoming Formula 1’s youngest champion.

Hamilton had voiced frustration over team radio during a stoppage following Valtteri Bottas’s Cadillac crash. Afterwards, he called for private discussions about Ferrari’s missed opportunity.

Ferrari had started the weekend’s decisive session from a position of strength. Formula 1’s official website reported that Hamilton’s qualifying lap of one minute 16.514 seconds earned his first grand prix pole for Ferrari and the 105th of his career. He beat Mercedes driver George Russell by just 0.009 seconds, with Leclerc qualifying third. It was also Ferrari’s first pole of the season and Hamilton’s first at the Mexico City circuit for a decade, according to the official report. Vasseur said the team had found qualifying more difficult than racing through the season and had been pursuing that breakthrough. He praised Hamilton’s management of the session.

Before the race, team principal Fred Vasseur told F1 TV that tyre management had been central to Hamilton’s qualifying performance, particularly preserving grip for the final corners. He also welcomed having both Ferraris in the top three. Vasseur identified reaching the first corner ahead and running in clean air as important to the result, while acknowledging the long approach to that opening turn.

The BBC also reported earlier disagreements: Leclerc pushed Hamilton off track in Italy and ignored an instruction to let him pass at the preceding race. In Singapore, Ferrari declined Hamilton’s request to be released while the drivers were on different tyres.

Neither Leclerc nor Vasseur had addressed the media after the race when the BBC published its report, leaving their responses unavailable.