Ferrari: Leclerc-Hamilton Scuffle During the Race: “He Pushed Me Off the Track”

Tension immediately arose between the two Ferraris just seconds after the start of the Formula 1 Mexican Grand Prix. Charles Leclerc, starting from third place, made a strong start to pass Russell and attack Hamilton, taking the lead after a collision.

The British driver, who started from pole position, was furious and made no secret of his anger over the radio: “I was pushed off by my teammate.” The Monegasque driver was supposed to give the position back to Hamilton, but couldn’t do so because Max Verstappen was now between them. The driver from Monaco is under investigation and faces a five-second penalty following his risky initial move.

For Hamilton, this was his first pole position with Ferrari—and his first in three years. On Saturday, the seven-time world champion clocked a time of 1’16″514, just nine thousandths of a second ahead of George Russell, who was second in his Mercedes. Leclerc was third, 119 thousandths behind the leader.

At the end of qualifying, the Brit described a weekend that was anything but easy: “I feel great, I’m absolutely thrilled. I’m lost for words—it’s been a tough weekend. We had an engine issue in FP1, which ended up affecting our work, but we managed to find a great setup. We’re all very close. It’s really special to secure my first pole position with Ferrari.”