Hamilton says Ferrari must hold 'serious talks' after Mexico City clash

Lewis Hamilton said Ferrari "have to have some serious talks behind closed doors" after on 1 November 2026 fighting between the team's two drivers cost them victory in the Mexico City Grand Prix. Max Verstappen won the race, Hamilton finished second and Kimi Antonelli took third to become the youngest world champion in Formula 1 history.

Hamilton had secured his first pole position with Ferrari in Mexico before the opening-lap incident that changed the race order. Charles Leclerc cut a chicane on the first lap to move ahead of Hamilton, and that move precipitated Hamilton losing second place to Verstappen as a consequence of his team-mate's attack.

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

The collision and subsequent position changes directly influenced the podium: Verstappen took the victory while Antonelli's third-place finish secured him the drivers' title. The race interruption for Bottas's crash formed the immediate context for Hamilton's radio message and his post-race comments.

Ferrari's intra-team tensions have been public on several occasions this season. The latest episode follows Leclerc pushing Hamilton off track at the first corner of the Italian Grand Prix; in the race before that Leclerc ignored a team order to let Hamilton by when they were on different strategies; and in Singapore last month Hamilton felt he should have been let past when they were on different tyres but Ferrari refused to make the call.

Leclerc and team principal Frederic Vasseur have yet to speak to the media after the race. Their absence from the post-race media programme remains outstanding as Hamilton calls for closed-door discussions within the team.