Lewis Hamilton did not appreciate being sent into the gravel by Charles Leclerc at the start in Monza. The Brit now asks Ferrari to establish clear rules between its drivers.
Read more Kimi Räikkönen’s son is about to join the Red Bull junior program
The tension could rise a notch between Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc after the Italian Grand Prix. While Ferrari dreamed of a home victory with its two drivers placed on the second and third rows of the grid, its hopes were seriously compromised from the first corner.
Starting fourth just behind Leclerc, Hamilton moved alongside his teammate at the braking of the first chicane. The two Ferraris approached the corner side by side, but the Brit found himself without enough space on the exit and had to go through the gravel.
Hamilton immediately expressed his frustration on the radio. After the race, he went further by asking Ferrari to implement real engagement rules between its drivers.
Hamilton wants written rules at Ferrari
For the seven-time world champion, the problem goes beyond the Monza incident. Ferrari must precisely define what its drivers are allowed to do when they fight directly on track.
“I think it comes down to engagement rules,” explains Hamilton.
The Brit notably draws on his experience at Mercedes, where precise instructions had been established to manage duels between teammates.
“When I was at Mercedes, we had written engagement rules.”
An organization he would now like to see at Maranello.
“We never really had too many problems. There were a few moments between Nico [Rosberg] and me, but most of the time, it went well.”
Hamilton then draws a very clear contrast with the current situation at Ferrari.
“Here, there are no rules. We need to look into that.”
A first corner that costs Ferrari dearly
The incident is all the more frustrating because Ferrari had an interesting opportunity to shine in front of the tifosi.
Leclerc started third and Hamilton fourth, just behind Pierre Gasly and George Russell. With its two cars immediately at the front, the Scuderia could hope to put pressure on its rivals from the first meters.
Hamilton indeed tried to take advantage of this situation at the first corner, but his duel with Leclerc had the opposite effect.
Sent into the gravel, the Brit lost several positions and found himself in the middle of the pack.
“It was very bad for the team and, obviously, it cost us a lot of positions,” he regrets.
For Hamilton, this kind of situation precisely illustrates the need to establish clear limits when the two Ferraris find themselves side by side.
Leclerc retires moments later
Ferrari’s catastrophic start to the race did not stop there.
Moments after his duel with Hamilton, Leclerc lost control of his car at the exit of the Parabolica while fighting with Oscar Piastri.
After trying to correct an initial slide, the Monegasque was thrown in the other direction, crossing the gravel trap before violently hitting the barriers.
The impact caused the safety car to intervene, then a red flag to allow the evacuation of the Ferrari and the repair of the protections.
Read more Charles Leclerc reveals vision problems after his huge crash in Monza
Leclerc was able to get out of his car alone before going through the medical center.
Ferrari thus lost one car, while the other found itself far from the front positions.
Hamilton tries to start over
Despite this particularly unfavorable scenario, Hamilton tried to immediately refocus on his comeback.
“I just tried to start over. I told myself: ‘Okay, I’ll try to come back,’ then obviously we had to stop.”
The red flag could have allowed him to restart on new bases. But the choice made regarding the tires did not produce the expected effects.
Hamilton notably believes that switching to medium tires was probably not the best solution for the rest of his race.
“I think I probably chose the wrong tires.”
The Brit still managed to climb up the order, but the time lost at the start had already heavily compromised his chances of mixing in the fight for victory.
The memory of duels with Rosberg
Hamilton’s reference to his former rivalry with Nico Rosberg is far from trivial.
Between 2014 and 2016, the two Mercedes drivers fought for the world championship in a sometimes extremely tense atmosphere. Several incidents had pushed the German team to precisely define how its drivers could fight on track.
Hamilton now believes that a similar framework could be beneficial at Ferrari.
He does not necessarily ask the team to prevent its drivers from fighting, but wants everyone to clearly know the limits not to be crossed when the two cars are directly competing.
The goal would above all be to avoid an internal duel compromising the collective result.
Ferrari will have to decide
The Monza episode could therefore push Ferrari to review how it manages its drivers.
Hamilton and Leclerc are naturally allowed to fight on track, but the absence of formal rules becomes problematic in the Brit’s eyes when this freedom risks costing positions to the team.
At home, the consequences were particularly visible. Ferrari had two cars in the top four positions at the start, but its Grand Prix began to collapse from the first corner.
Hamilton now asks the Scuderia to act. After experiencing at Mercedes a system of written rules designed to manage battles between teammates, the seven-time world champion wants to see Ferrari adopt a similar approach before another duel with Leclerc costs the team even more.
Read more Kimi Antonelli reveals the moment he thought he lost the win at Monza: «It was quite scary»