– 15 seconds were enough to turn the mood at Ferrari: Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc came too close to each other shortly after the start of the 2026 Italian Grand Prix in Monza in the battle for position. Within a few meters, third and fourth places turned into third and tenth. And that bothered Hamilton above all, because from his point of view it was “bad for the team”.
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The seven-time Formula 1 world champion was the victim in the tight scene: while Leclerc kept his Ferrari SF-26 on course through the first chicane and accelerated out as third, Hamilton felt pushed out on the outside line, touched the gravel trap and fell back.
According to Hamilton, this should not have happened: “I was ahead in turn 2 [compared to Leclerc],” he claimed. “At the latest at the apex, I was ahead.” Therefore, Leclerc should have left him more space at the corner exit. But Leclerc took a wide line – wider than Pierre Gasly and George Russell ahead of him – so Hamilton ran out of track.
Rosberg sees it like Hamilton, Leclerc quite differently
Of all people, Hamilton’s former title rival Nico Rosberg saw it the same way. Rosberg explained on Sky: “For me, turn 2 was Leclerc’s mistake because […] Lewis was still a bit ahead at the apex. Leclerc simply has to leave space at the corner exit.”
Leclerc saw it differently – and turned the tables: there was “not much space” at this point for an overtaking attempt by Hamilton. “I then tried to take turn 2 as tight as possible.”
Did the Ferrari drivers “go too far” here?
But what initially sounded like a justification quickly became an admission of (at least) partial guilt when Leclerc continued: “It’s true that we went too far here.”
Leclerc’s thesis: Hamilton attacked too hard before turn 1. His own maneuver in turn 2 then “was not enough” to keep Hamilton on the track. In the end – especially at Ferrari’s home race in Monza – “that’s not good,” says Leclerc.
Ferrari team principal Frederic Vasseur used the same words immediately after the race: “not good”. Hamilton, on the other hand, was furious and simply said: In this situation, “there was no we”. With that, he clearly shifted the responsibility for the incident towards Leclerc.
Vasseur did not want to go that far on Sunday evening in Monza but immediately signaled a need for discussion: “We will talk about it.” And before he personally passes judgment, he wants to “first talk to the drivers”. Because above all, Hamilton was extremely upset.
Hamilton criticizes lack of rules at Ferrari
The ex-champion criticized Ferrari for a lack of stance: “Ultimately, it’s about clear rules in a duel. At Mercedes, we had written rules for that. There were really hardly any big problems with that – maybe a few times between Nico and me. But here, there are no such rules.” (Photo gallery: Hamilton vs. Rosberg – the crash chronology)
Photo gallery: Hamilton vs. Rosberg: The crash chronology
Unlike, for example, McLaren (“Papaya rules”), Ferrari under team principal Vasseur has so far refrained from giving drivers concrete guidelines for behavior in internal team battles. Hamilton now accuses Vasseur of this – as well as the so far missing decision to possibly favor one driver.
Hamilton said: “Ultimately, it comes from the very top. Decisions are passed down from the top. It starts with Fred.”
Vasseur’s counter-thesis: Rules trip you up yourself
But Vasseur wants nothing to do with that: McLaren in particular proved in 2025 that (too) strong team interference does not necessarily have to be successful. Especially with a possible team order, caution is advised: “If McLaren had put everything on Piastri at the same time in 2025, Max Verstappen would have become world champion in the end.”
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“Of course, there comes a point when a decision has to be made. But I think it would have been too early to make such a decision before Monza. Now I will have time to talk to the guys about it,” explained Vasseur.
For Hamilton, that comes “much too late”. Because Ferrari lost “an enormous amount of points” to Mercedes just in Monza. An internal team instruction could have prevented that, Hamilton believes. More than that: “Such decisions should have been made many, many weeks ago.”
Hamilton: No need for rules because of me, but …
Hamilton also does not hide why he thinks a guideline is necessary. He explains it indirectly: “I don’t drive unfairly. I have always driven clean and fair and have always left enough space. That’s why I don’t think anyone has to worry because of me.”
“Since I joined the team, I have tried […] not to put the team in danger under any circumstances. I stand by that. But I can only speak for my side. As for the other side and the decisions made there, you have to talk to Fred.”
With that, Hamilton at least indirectly directed his criticism against Leclerc. And Leclerc appeared puzzled after the race in Monza: “Honestly, I don’t know who is pushing this narrative that we are fighting [internally]. In Zandvoort, in my opinion, there was already way too much talk about it.”
Team principal Vasseur must act – says Hamilton
Will it soon become the number one topic in Maranello? For team principal Vasseur, it is “not an easy decision” to freeze positions or even issue a team order. “Basically, you want your drivers to compete freely against each other all weekend. But for reasons of reason, there comes a point when a decision has to be made.”
Whether this point has been reached or even passed is apparently a matter of disagreement at Ferrari. But according to Hamilton, it cannot go on like this: “I already said on Saturday that we have to look at how we communicate with each other. If we keep doing it like this, we will get the same result – again and again. We have to change something, otherwise we won’t get ahead.”
Hamilton explicitly does not want to extend this criticism to the entire Ferrari team. The result from Monza is “painful enough, I don’t have to also pick on my people. They go home to their families and really, really work hard. I also feel sorry for the Tifosi who came to support us.”
“We didn’t do well on Saturday and just as badly on Sunday. That’s tough. I give everything I can, but sometimes that’s just not enough. All the other things also have to fit together,” said Hamilton.
Discussion in Maranello – and then be “friends” again
Therefore, a review must now take place, “especially after the next race,” which is already taking place this weekend, explained Hamilton. “Then we want to look at how we can change our processes so that something like this doesn’t happen again. We are not yet as clean in implementation as we could be – not as good as other teams do now.”
However, all this can be solved constructively, said Hamilton: “I believe the team is open to it. And I don’t want to get involved in discussions and disputes about my team.”
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The seven-time world champion assured: “We will go back to the drawing board. We will come back, compete again with positive energy at the next race – and we will continue to be friends.”
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