Boiling point at Ferrari: Hamilton hits out at Leclerc as Vasseur fumes over 'lack of respect'

The Mexican Grand Prix, headlined by Kimi Antonelli's historic title triumph, turned into an absolute nightmare for Ferrari. An opening-lap clash between Charles Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton ruined both drivers' races and paved the way for an uncontested Max Verstappen victory, sparking fierce criticism and a tense atmosphere within the Italian outfit.

The Maranello squad was well-placed to secure a 1-2 finish at a track where overtaking is notoriously difficult. However, Leclerc's aggressive opening move resulted in a five-second time penalty and forced Hamilton straight off the circuit in defense. As a direct consequence, Verstappen capitalized to sweep past both Scuderia cars on his way to the top step of the podium.

Visibly frustrated, Lewis Hamilton pulled no punches when criticizing his teammate post-race, having already warned over team radio that they had "big problems."

"A battle between teammates is fine, as long as it doesn't stop the team from getting the best possible result. I believe the team's interests must always come first. I lost a victory and Ferrari dropped valuable points in the fight for second in the constructors' championship. This is a lack of respect for everyone back at the factory. He's 29 years old now, so I don't think it's an age issue, but a mindset: 'either I win or neither of us wins,' and it shouldn't be that way," the Briton fired, recalling another incident from earlier in the season.

"At Silverstone, I could have gone full kamikaze, taken him out, and cost us the win. Instead, I was happy for the team at that moment. We were running one-two into Turn 4; all we had to do was hold position. Anything can happen in a race, but when your teammate works against you and you lose places like this, it makes things very difficult. We'll speak face-to-face and see if that changes anything, but something definitely has to change," the 39-year-old added.

For his part, Leclerc sought to downplay the controversy, though he acknowledged his error and accepted the penalty imposed by the stewards.

"The penalty was completely deserved. Whether it should have been five or ten seconds depends on analyzing the incident and the mitigating circumstances. We both missed the corner; it's clear we both braked too late. I couldn't make the turn, so I cut across. My initial plan was to hand the place back to Lewis, but unfortunately Max got between us. I asked over the radio what to do, and we felt the situation wasn't clear-cut enough for me to drop to third. We'll discuss it," explained the Monegasque driver.

Team principal Frederic Vasseur reacted sharply to the outcome in Mexico, making no effort to hide his displeasure after watching a commanding result slip through their fingers.

"I think it's a huge lack of respect for the brand, for everyone working in Maranello, and for all the effort we are putting in. We took a genuine step forward in performance, and throwing away a win like this is hard to stomach. I'm not pointing fingers at anyone; I want to talk to both of them. When you start first and third in Mexico, where nobody has overtaken in 72 years, you don't expect to finish second and fourth," the team boss stressed.

In the drivers' standings, Lewis Hamilton holds onto third place with 259 points, while Charles Leclerc sits fifth on 245. With no break in the relentless calendar, the grid returns to action this Sunday in Brazil, where Ferrari will look to restore stability and unity between their drivers.