The rollercoaster that is the emotional state Lewis Hamilton finds himself in took another twist last time out at the 2026 Mexico City Grand Prix. Having claimed his first pole since moving to the Italian squad and becoming the oldest driver in 44 years to achieve such a feat, Hamilton blamed the loss of a race win for him on his teammate, Charles Leclerc.”
The Turn One Battle and Telemetry Drama
“Starting from pole in Mexico can be something of a poisoned chalice given the huge run down to turn one, some 850 metres away from pole. This gives the driver in P3 a huge opportunity to slipstream the pole sitter, and this is exactly what Leclerc did as George Russell in P2 suffered from a power loss from the start.
Leclerc attempted a move around the outside of turn one before yielding to his teammate as the corner tightened at turn two. But on the run down to turn three, the Monegasque driver’s telemetry shows he reached a speed of 325 kph, some 15 kph more than his teammate.
The onboard camera showed Charles turning the wheel for the entry into turn three, but such was his speed the car merely went straight onto the grass. Hamilton’s telemetry showed him adding a blip of throttle mid-corner, which also forced him outside the white lines governing the track extremities.
Max Verstappen slipped by the slow-moving Ferrari of Lewis into second place, leaving Charles in the lead of the race on a softer tyre than Verstappen; he decided giving the place back was too costly and proceeded to attempt to build a five-second gap for the inevitable penalty incoming.
He failed to do so, and predictably, Max Verstappen on his stop for the softer tyre merely passed Leclerc for the lead during the pit stop, with the four-time champion going on to claim victory.”
Hamilton Calls for Rules of Engagement
“Lewis Hamilton resurrected a polemic he had raised during the summer, where he called on the Ferrari team to issue guidelines on how their drivers should race each other.
During his time at Mercedes, and particularly with Nico Rosberg as his teammate, a tome was developed with each passing race on how the Mercedes drivers should race each other without incident. Yet Ferrari do not have such an internal agreement on driving standards, first revealed by Lewis Hamilton after the team’s home race in Monza.
Starting behind his teammate at the Italian Grand Prix, Hamilton attempted a move into the first chicane down the inside.The result: he was forced to take to the gravel on the exit, which cost him five places as his rivals streamed by. Later in the paddock, Hamilton revealed: “When I was at Mercedes we had written rules of engagement. Here there are no rules.That’s something that needs to probably change.”
Such were the tight margins of the incident, the paddock was split on who was at fault. Nico Rosberg backed Hamilton,claiming he was ahead at the apex, but Martin Brundle backed Leclerc because he was ahead at the second apex of the chicane where Hamilton left the track. A number of pundits were critical of Ferrari for having no driving standards rules in place.”
A Pattern of Friction
“A week earlier in Zandvoort, Charles Leclerc was ahead on track but with Hamilton behind him on a different tyre strategy. Lewis asked the team to allow him through, but strangely no call came for Leclerc to move aside.
In Austin, Texas, with the cars barreling into turn one, again it was Lewis Hamilton who was forced to take evasive action, and given his terrible season last year, it appears Hamilton is often more cautious than previously. Again after the incident in Mexico, Hamilton called for the team to introduce racing guidelines.”
The Roots: The Vettel Era and the Contract Clause
“Yet it appears that Charles Leclerc has refused to accept the team issuing any form of racing guidelines—not just since Hamilton arrived in 2025, but he had it written into his contract extension offered to him in 2020, after a troublesome time driving alongside Sebastian Vettel.
At the 2019 Russian Grand Prix, there was an agreement enforced by the team for Sebastian Vettel to swap race positions with Leclerc. The German refused, claiming he was driving more quickly than his teammate.
Then at the 2019 Brazilian Grand Prix, whilst the Ferrari pair were battling over P4 in the closing stages, Leclerc overtook Vettel. Yet Sebastian appeared to attempt to squeeze him, resulting in their wheels touching. This resulted in a puncture for Vettel and a suspension failure for Leclerc, so Ferrari enjoyed a double DNF.
There were other niggles between the pair, and it appears this was the catalyst for Charles Leclerc to demand no imposition of team rules of engagement for him when competing against a future teammate. At the time he was a rising star and Ferrari’s favorite son, so it appears the request was granted, as reported by F1 business journalist Marc Limacher.
Posting on X, Limacher claims: “I hear that Charles Leclerc has had a preferential equity clause (sportive and technical) in his contract since 2020. This would prevent the establishment of written engagement rules.””
Escalating Tensions Heading to Brazil
“Clearly, the matter will come up in Brazil, given the scathing comments made by Hamilton about Leclerc after the race.’The guy’s 28 years old, so I don’t think it’s an age thing. I think it’s a mentality thing. It’s like “do or die. Like either I win or none of us do”, and it shouldn’t be that,’ claimed Lewis.
With Hamilton demanding Mercedes-style rules of engagement for its drivers, somebody either close to Leclerc or the team principal has leaked this titbit of information maybe to shut down Hamilton’s insistence. Nevertheless, it will surely be a topic on which Lewis will be questioned.
In fact, maybe Lewis has answered his own question already, having commented in Mexico: “When I was at Mercedes, I watched and witnessed the back and forth between Charles and Carlos [Sainz] several races, where they were battling so much that the person ahead just pulled away, and they had the pace to actually win.” Maybe this is in fact evidence of Leclerc’s preferential equity clause.”
Conclusion
In conclusion, Fred Vasseur may have let the cat out of the bag when responding to a question about Ferrari and a driving standards document. He rejected the suggestion the team has no rules, but revealed instead that “internal principles exist.
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A.J. Hunt is Senior Editor at TJ13, where Andrew oversees editorial standards and contributes to the site’s Formula 1 coverage. A career journalist with experience in both print and digital sports media, Andrew trained in investigative journalism and has written for a range of European sports outlets.
At TJ13, Andrew plays a central role in shaping the site’s output, working across breaking news, analysis, and long-form features. Andrew’s responsibilities include fact-checking, refining editorial structure, and ensuring consistency in reporting across a fast-moving news cycle.
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Call me crazy but we’ve seen it before, guy nears 30, has a wife and kid (on the way), driving drops. Even if Leclerc is under his previously negotiated contract til 2030, I think it’s time for some “Papaya Rules” in that garage.