As Ferrari tensions simmer, Hamilton doubles down

Even Kimi Antonelli’s championship victory last Sunday could not overshadow the tension at Ferrari after a massive missed opportunity to win the Mexico City Grand Prix.

Running one-two out of the first three corners, it was Ferrari’s race to lose, and it duly lost it as its two drivers fought each other at Turn 4. Charles Leclerc received the larger portion of blame having been the driver attacking his teammate when there was a victory to be had, but Lewis Hamilton did not play it perfectly as he also ran deep trying to defend from Leclerc, allowing Max Verstappen through.

After Sunday’s race, Hamilton was clearly an extremely frustrated figure, and despite his best attempts to keep the focus on Antonelli, he couldn’t help but air his grievances at Leclerc’s approach to racing him.

Team principal Fred Vasseur also fired off some warning shots, accusing the drivers of lacking respect for the team, but saying they would clear the air before moving on and trying to win the Sao Paulo Grand Prix. Only, that has yet to happen in person.

“We haven’t had the time really to speak much in depth,” Hamilton said on Thursday at Interlagos. “We have spoken and I fully understand my responsibility to the team; we have so many people working so hard back at the factory, that’s why I’m always praising them, that’s why I’m always trying to show my appreciation for them, I do my absolute utmost to help push the team forwards and I feel like I’ve been a big part of where we are today as a team, which is positive.

“I think my respect has always been the highest for my team, so… Naturally I was frustrated and I’m still frustrated, so conversations need to be had, and we will have those when the time permits. Fred’s been back in Europe at the team. Obviously Charles is with his family.

“We had an opportunity to win for the team. The team has done such an amazing job of bringing upgrades this year, they’ve been working flat out all year long to try and bridge the gap given that we had the power deficit and I think they’ve done an incredible job.

“We’ve made lots of changes in how we deliver on our weekend. You’ve really seen us taking some leaps and bounds and we've scored more points than any other team in the last three or four races.

"We could have easily had a one-two and so we definitely have to work towards making sure that doesn’t happen again.”

It’s admirable that Vasseur puts himself through an even tougher travel schedule to ensure he is present in Maranello, and nobody can criticize Leclerc for prioritizing being at the birth of his first child. But those circumstances have combined to ensure Hamilton does not yet feel the situation between the drivers has been resolved. And given the understandably later arrival of Leclerc, it means Hamilton was also the lone voice representing the team as the weekend got underway in Brazil.

To that end, it was Hamilton’s narrative to control, and he made clear that he had no concerns about speaking his mind about an area he feels Leclerc needs to be better.

“I don’t really care what anyone thinks about what I said. I wear my heart on my sleeve and I say how I feel in the moment,” he said.

“I did see something that someone was saying that it’s calculated, the things that I’m saying, and I just want to combat that with the fact that when you’re in the race your heart rate is like 170, you’re driving 200 miles an hour, you don’t have time to be calculated in what you’re saying and thinking what you’re saying the media are going to write about.

“You don’t think about that. Usually your frustration comes out towards the people in your team – particularly the bosses – about decisions, and also the stewards have always asked us to voice if you have an issue on the track.

“Of course there’s sometimes you say things and maybe you might regret it afterwards. I don’t and I’m never going to apologize for being authentic and real and I’m not going to be silenced. I have not been asked to not say anything and that’s just the way it is.”

Hard racing is to be expected, but do teammates race each other even harder? Colin McMaster/Getty Images

In trying identify the root cause of the missed opportunity in Mexico, Hamilton reiterated his belief that Leclerc races him harder than he dos rivals on track, and suggests it’s a trend.

“Yes. I can see what you see. Singapore he was fully alongside [Max Verstappen], wheel to wheel, fully on the inside and had won the lead into Turn 1 in Singapore, and he backed off. It was definitely different. But, I mean, if you look at the [Ferrari] teammates, it was the same with Sebastian [Vettel], it was the same with Carlos [Sainz].”

With no Leclerc or Vasseur on-site on Friday, it was actually Sainz who offered the counterargument, disagreeing that Leclerc has always struggled to strike the right balance when racing a teammate.

“Honestly, I have a relatively good memory of my time with Charles and the fights that we had,” Sainz said. “It is true that when you are fighting for wins there is more pressure and things on the line, so naturally you become a bit more selfish than when you are fighting for a midfield position. So it is more difficult to follow the situation that the team would like you to follow.

“There were wins on the line back then, but I always respected Charles, he always respected me. We never had contacts, we had strong fights – Monza, Vegas – there were hot moments during the year.

“I think what is more difficult is more the PR and the fan base was ignited back then, very polarized between Charles and me. I remember suffering a bit from the very hardcore fans of Charles wishing me bad, maybe some Italian media also saying that I was not being enough of a number two when I needed to me and vice versa.

“It is more the pressure that involves Ferrari than any issues I had with Charles, which were always resolved that night. We always managed to find a solution and a way forward. It is always the case in F1 – I cannot remember a team that has had two good drivers fighting at the front that haven’t had issues when fighting for wins.”

Perhaps Leclerc’s more important priorities this week will mean he is less likely to rise to the comments when he arrives at the track, or perhaps he won’t speak publicly until after there have been further private talks. But Hamilton left no doubt that he will continue to try and upset the status quo at Ferrari if he feels it is to the wider benefit of its chances of success, regardless of the history Leclerc has at Maranello.

“Eight years, he’s had nine wins in the team, and he is very much embedded within the team and I knew that it would always be a challenge," Hamilton said. “I’ve always respected that when I’ve approached the team; I’ve really worked hard to build a good relationship with Charles and bridge the gap and make sure that we’re harmonious and work hard together. I’ve always tried to be respectful.

“Naturally it’s not so easy having someone like me come into a team because I’m very outspoken and I push and push and push, push for so many changes and I’m going to be pushing for more. And as long as I’m here that’s how it’s going to be.

“I’m here to win and to be able to win you have to work with everyone around you. We’re all rowing and trying to get everyone to row at the same pace and also the same strength. And you have to push and I have to push, I have to be pushed also to elevate, we all can always elevate and be better and I truly believe that this team can be fighting for the championship next year.”