Lewis Hamilton slams Charles Leclerc for "do or die" attitude after Mexico GP clash

Lewis Hamilton has criticised team-mate Charles Leclerc for his “do or die” attitude after Ferrari lost a straightforward victory at the Formula 1 Mexico Grand Prix.

The seven-time world champion started on pole at Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez with Leclerc third, but he rose to second when George Russell lost momentum into Turn 1.

It was there that the Monegasque attacked Hamilton on the outside with the hope of completing it down the inside of Turn 2, but he instead ran over that kerb and remained second.

But it continued as Leclerc again made a move on his team-mate at the outside of Turn 4, yet space quickly disappeared and he took evasive action by cutting Turn 5 to gain the lead.

Hamilton was consequently overtaken by Max Verstappen, who subsequently took first due to Leclerc’s five-second penalty for the lap one fiasco, leading to the Red Bull driver winning.

The Briton ultimately finished second ahead of new world champion Kimi Antonelli, while Leclerc took fourth, meaning Ferrari remained on just two wins across the 2026 campaign.

Charles Leclerc, Ferrari, Lewis Hamilton, Ferrari

Photo by: Colin McMaster / LAT Images via Getty Images

A furious Hamilton said: “When I was at Mercedes, I watched and witnessed the back and forth between Charles and Carlos [Sainz] several races, where they were battling so much that the person ahead just pulled away, and they had the pace to actually win.

“But it is one thing when that's happening in fourth and fifth, as opposed to first and second, and you lose the win. That's significant.

“The guy is 28 years old, so I don't think it's an age thing. I think it's a mentality thing.

“It's like, ‘Do or die. Either I win or none of us do’, and it shouldn't be that. It should be us getting that one-two.”

Sunday was the latest in a series of heated moments between Leclerc and Hamilton recently, starting with Zandvoort where the Briton was held up and criticised the lack of team orders.

Then the following race at Monza, Hamilton lost positions after being forced onto the gravel at Turn 2, which Leclerc took responsibility for, so the Briton reckons “serious talks” are needed.

Lewis Hamilton, Ferrari, Max Verstappen, Red Bull Racing, Andrea Kimi Antonelli, Mercedes

Photo by: Colin McMaster / LAT Images via Getty Images

But he’s unsure how much of a difference that will make and after Mexico on Sunday, Leclerc told Sky Sports that “there was a gap and when you are fighting for a win, I will always go for it”.

“I don't know what needs to happen now, how we discuss things when we go back,” said Hamilton.

“I'm not quite sure how I want to engage in that. Of course, the frustrations are today. I'm happy because this guy just won the championship, so I'm really torn because, on one side, I'm happy, and on the other side, I'm really pissed.

“We lost valuable points, and we, as a team, worked so hard. We could have easily had a one-two today. Really, we had the pace to do so.

“We're going into Turn 4 first and second. If we just hold position, I think anything can happen in the race. But when your team-mate works against you and then you lose positions like that, it's definitely tough.

“So, we'll just talk about it offline, and it's not really worth saying too much more. We don't have rules of engagement, and whether or not that will change anything from Charles' side, I don't know.

Charles Leclerc, Ferrari, Lewis Hamilton, Ferrari

Photo by: Bryn Lennon / Formula 1 via Getty Images

“We've just got to figure it out, but something needs to change for sure.”

Hamilton’s comments were made with the staff at Maranello in mind amid it going yet another year without a world title, as it trails champion-elect Mercedes by 126 points.

“Fred's doing his best,” said Hamilton of team boss Fred Vasseur. “I think Fred came and spoke to me before the race, and I think he was nervous.

“He just wanted us... Of course, he wants these two drivers to do well. From my side, if I'm coming from behind and I'm taking all the risk and it ends up that we lose as a team, then I think I have some answering to do, because it impacts a lot of people.

“But the other way around, I'm in the lead, and it was just unnecessary. I think we could have easily, as I said, had that one-two today, which would have been huge for the team and for everyone back at the factory who's worked so hard to bring us these upgrades.

“I don't really know what will be done because up until now nothing really has been done. So, yeah, we'll see.”

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