Arabic version: هاميلتون يدعو إلى محادثات داخل فيراري بعد صدام المكسيك

According to BBC News, Lewis Hamilton said Ferrari must hold “serious talks behind closed doors” after a first-lap battle with team-mate Charles Leclerc contributed to the team missing out on victory in the Mexico City Grand Prix.

Leclerc cut a chicane on the opening lap to take the lead from Hamilton. Hamilton then lost second place to Max Verstappen as a consequence of Leclerc’s attack. Verstappen won the race, Hamilton finished second and Kimi Antonelli took third to become Formula 1’s youngest world champion.

“Ultimately, that lost us the win today,” Hamilton said. “We have to have some serious talks behind closed doors.” During a red-flag period caused by Valtteri Bottas’ Cadillac crash, Hamilton had told Ferrari over team radio: “We’ve got big problems. Big, big problems.”

Leclerc said he would speak with Hamilton, adding that both drivers did not make the corner. He said he believed keeping position was worthwhile with the Red Bull running second, while noting he could also be unhappy with how much Hamilton pushed him off track out of Turn One. “But it is racing,” Leclerc said.

Hamilton’s view was that Ferrari could have run first and second after the opening lap and controlled the race. The Mexico incident followed other tensions between the pair this season, including contact at the Italian Grand Prix, a team-order dispute in the previous race and a disagreement over strategy in Singapore last month. Verstappen said Ferrari had made life difficult for themselves by fighting each other, allowing him to capitalise.