Now, that is how you ruin a Sunday morning. Lewis Hamilton stepped out of his machine at the Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez firmly believing that Scuderia easily had a car to take both P1 and P2 at the Mexico City Grand Prix, only for an intra-team skirmish to blow it all up.
Here is the thing: the trouble started right off the line during the 71-lap race. The seven-time World Champion had claimed his maiden Grand Prix pole position for the team, holding his advantage on the long run to Turn 1 before Charles Leclerc shoved his car to the outside in the braking zone. The pair went side-by-side through the opening sequence of corners, with Hamilton just staying ahead before defending again into Turn 4. Both drivers went deep and off the track, but while Hamilton tried to rejoin immediately, Leclerc bolted across the grass to take the lead.
Ultimately, it was that that lost us the win today. And I, yeah, I think we have to have some serious talks behind the scenes for sure,
That loss of momentum was fatal. Max Verstappen swooped past to grab a position, and while Leclerc was handed a five-second penalty because the stewards noted Hamilton had also gone off track, the damage was done. Hamilton later jumped ahead of his team mate following a mid-race restart after a red flag, and even challenged Verstappen until the end to finish second, but the frustration was raw.
"I don't really have anything to say about the scenario with Charles. I think you can see what happened and the reason we lost the win," said Hamilton.
Reminding everyone of the rules discussed in the drivers' briefing, Hamilton pointed out that going off at Turn 1 requires giving the position back, noting that he himself received a 10-second penalty for that exact same move last year. It is not even the first time the pair have gone wheel-to-wheel this season, following a frenetic battle in China and Leclerc apologising for pushing Hamilton off at the start of the Italian GP.
"Ultimately, it was that that lost us the win today. And I, yeah, I think we have to have some serious talks behind the scenes for sure," Hamilton added.
With internal fighting threatening to hold the team back, Hamilton stressed that every decision on track impacts the massive workforce operating behind the scenes. Working as a team is part of the job and part of the contract, and without a deep, serious conversation offline, this kind of friction is bound to repeat itself.
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