Vasseur criticises Hamilton and Leclerc after Mexico City clash
The early-race contact between Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc in Mexico City cost Ferrari a possible win. Leclerc got a five-second penalty, Hamilton demanded "serious talks", and team principal Fred Vasseur spoke of a lack of respect.
The moment the lead changed
Ferrari left Mexico City with a second and a fourth place and a lot to discuss. Lewis Hamilton had started from pole, his first for the team, with Charles Leclerc third. Early in the race Leclerc moved to the outside into Turn 2 and then ran wide at the Turn 4 complex while trying to pass. Both cars went off the track. Hamilton rejoined following the stewards' guidance, and Leclerc cut the corner and came out in front, according to The Race and RacingNews365.
The penalty and the radio
The stewards gave Leclerc a five-second time penalty for gaining a lasting advantage. The Race reports that it would normally have been ten seconds, but Hamilton's late braking counted as a mitigating factor. Over team radio Hamilton said the penalty was too light because Leclerc still had clean air at the front. Afterwards he asked for "serious talks" inside the team, as reported by PlanetF1 and Crash.net.
The penalty had a direct effect on the result. Leclerc served his five seconds at his pit stop and rejoined behind Max Verstappen, who went on to win. Hamilton later closed in on the Red Bull and finished second, 0.799 s behind, after minor contact at Turn 1 on a restart that the stewards did not penalise. Leclerc lost time with a lock-up and tyre damage and dropped to fourth.
Vasseur's reaction
Team principal Fred Vasseur told Canal+ that he had seen "a lack of respect" for the brand, for the staff and for the work the team had done. He said Ferrari had made a real step forward in performance and that losing the win was hard to accept. Asked whether he was aiming at Leclerc, he said he was not targeting anyone and wanted to speak to both drivers; he also noted that Hamilton had run very wide as well.
What it means
Ferrari are second in the constructors' standings on 504 points, behind Mercedes on 630. In the drivers' table Hamilton is third on 259 points, two behind second-placed Verstappen, and Leclerc is fifth on 245. Hamilton has one win this season in the 2026 data and Leclerc none, which makes the lost Mexico City victory a big missed chance for Ferrari. The team now has a week to resolve the matter before the São Paulo Grand Prix on 8 November.
