Ferrari Brings the Hamilton-Leclerc Row to Brazil

Ferrari arrive in São Paulo with the fallout from Mexico City still unresolved. Lewis Hamilton started last Sunday's race from pole position, his first Grand Prix pole for Ferrari and the 105th of his career, and finished second, 0.799 seconds behind Max Verstappen. He believes the fight with his team-mate Charles Leclerc on the opening lap cost Ferrari a likely one-two. Leclerc finished fourth after a five-second penalty for gaining an advantage off the track.

The team principal agrees that something went badly wrong. What nobody inside Ferrari agrees on yet is whose fault it was.

What happened on lap one

Hamilton made a clean getaway from pole and defended the lead through the opening corners. Leclerc, starting behind him, drew alongside on the run into the next sequence of corners, and neither gave way. Hamilton braked late and ran wide, and Leclerc was later given a five-second penalty for gaining an advantage by leaving the track. By the time the two Ferraris had sorted themselves out, Verstappen was through, and he controlled the race from there to win.

For a team that has won only twice this season, losing a race it had in its hands, from pole, to its own drivers' fight was the worst possible outcome.

Hamilton: "serious talks"

Hamilton was blunt afterwards. Ferrari, he said, needed "some serious talks behind the scenes", and the team "could easily have had a one-two" in Mexico. He accepted he wasn't entirely blameless, since he had braked late and run wide himself, but his view was that the incident was triggered by Leclerc attacking when there was no need to.

He has kept that line all week. He has said he won't soften or withdraw the criticism, and that he doesn't expect a single meeting to fix everything. The two drivers did talk privately after the race, and Hamilton described that conversation as productive. Asked about his team principal's criticism, he kept it short: "I think my respect has always been the highest for my team."

Leclerc: "very much on the limit"

Leclerc sees it differently. In his view Hamilton was just as aggressive in the fight as he was, and he described Hamilton's driving as "very much on the limit". Having spent six seasons as Ferrari's established lead driver before Hamilton arrived in 2025, he is not inclined to accept that the blame is his alone.

source: Scuderia Ferrari HP

Vasseur steps in

Team principal Fred Vasseur was furious. He called the clash "a matter of respect" and a "lack of respect" for the people who build and run the cars, and he refused to pin it on Leclerc alone, pointing out that Hamilton had run wide too. He said he wouldn't give his own view of who was more at fault until he had spoken to both drivers.

He spoke to each of them separately after the race and scheduled a joint meeting at Interlagos on Friday. The discussion is reported to centre on a clear rule for what happens when a Ferrari is in a position to win, so that the same thing doesn't happen in a title fight next year.

A big weekend to get right

It all lands on a weekend that matters for Ferrari. Hamilton makes his 400th Formula 1 start on Sunday, at a circuit where he is an honorary Brazilian citizen, and is third in the drivers' standings, two points behind Verstappen. The team need to outscore Mercedes by four points or more to keep the constructors' title alive to Las Vegas, and that needs both cars finishing well, ahead of both Mercedes, without taking each other out.

Friday's first practice gave nothing away: Hamilton was fourth, behind Norris, Antonelli and Verstappen. The real test of whether the talks worked comes at the start on Sunday.

Grand Circle is not affiliated with Formula 1, the FIA or any team.

Sources and further reading

• Formula 1: Hamilton wants Ferrari talks ahead of the São Paulo Grand Prix
• GPblog: Vasseur sets Hamilton-Leclerc talks at Interlagos
• Grande Prêmio: Ferrari plans Friday meeting with Hamilton and Leclerc at Interlagos
• Sky Sports: Lewis Hamilton demands 'serious talks' at Ferrari
• Motorsport.com: Vasseur calls for "respect" after Hamilton-Leclerc clash
• RacingNews365: Lewis Hamilton addresses Ferrari 'lack of respect' comments
• The Race: Where Ferrari drivers' Mexico clash crossed a new line