Hamilton criticises Leclerc: “It is a matter of mindset”

Lewis Hamilton harshly criticised the incident with his teammate Charles Leclerc on the first lap of the Mexican Grand Prix. Hamilton described Leclerc's behaviour as “a matter of mindset” and said it had nothing to do with age.

The two fought for the lead over the first four corners. Leclerc took the lead from Hamilton, who started from pole, by cutting the second chicane. Hamilton then ran wide while defending and lost the position to Max Verstappen at the exit of Turn 5.

Leclerc received a five-second penalty from the stewards for the incident at Turn 4. He served the penalty at his pit stop, and Verstappen took the lead and went on to win the race. The race was stopped with a red flag after Valtteri Bottas crashed at high speed. When it restarted, Hamilton passed Leclerc and took second place.

After the race, in which Ferrari finished second and fourth, Hamilton said that “serious discussions” were needed behind the scenes. At the press conference he was asked whether a different approach was needed in the fight for race wins with his teammate. Hamilton said that during his Mercedes years he had watched the battle between Leclerc and Carlos Sainz. He said that a battle for position over fourth and fifth is very different from one over first and second, and that losing a race win makes an important difference. Hamilton also pointed to other tensions between two drivers this season.