Ferrari: Lewis Hamilton Takes Another Swipe at Charles Leclerc and Calls for Changes

A week wasn’t enough to cool tempers at Ferrari: the atmosphere at the Prancing Horse is still tense following the events in Mexico City and the heated clash between Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc after what happened at the start of the Grand Prix.

Charles Leclerc is not present at the press conference in Brazil because he has returned to Europe, where he was present for the birth of his first daughter, but the seven-time world champion is there—and he has no regrets about his attack, and is now calling for changes: “I think he’s particularly aggressive when he attacks me on the track. I can’t say much more than that. In Singapore, at Turn 1, he was all the way on the inside during the move on Verstappen, but then he backed off. It was definitely different from Mexico. But if you look at his former teammates, he did the same thing to Vettel and Sainz.”

Hamilton wants to resolve the issue once and for all: “I’m frustrated, and we’ll discuss this with the team—we’ll definitely talk about it—because in Mexico we had the opportunity to win for the team; we could have easily secured a one-two finish, so we need to work to ensure that doesn’t happen again.”

“I know full well that he’s been with them for eight years. He’s very much integrated into the team, and I knew it would always be a challenge. I’ve always respected that. I’ve worked hard to build a good relationship with Charles, bridge the gap, and make sure we’re on the same page and working hard together. I always try to be respectful. Of course, it’s not easy to bring someone like me into a team, because I’m very outspoken and I push, push, push, and push to bring about a lot of changes.”