Hamilton demands Ferrari change after Monza clash with Leclerc

Ferrari’s Monza failure becomes a championship problem

Ferrari’s home race exposed a problem far more serious than a single first-lap collision. Lewis Hamilton finished sixth at Monza after Charles Leclerc pushed him into the gravel, before Leclerc spun into the Parabolica barrier at high speed at the end of the following lap and triggered a red flag.

The result also intensified Hamilton’s frustration with Ferrari’s race execution. He had already criticised the team’s handling of team orders in the Dutch Grand Prix, believing a podium opportunity was lost while Ferrari hesitated over moving Leclerc aside as Hamilton ran faster on fresher tyres. At Monza, the issue became impossible to ignore.

Hamilton says Ferrari must change its approach

“From today, we’ve just lost so much ground to them [Mercedes] on points,” Hamilton told media including Motorsport.com. “It’s far too late for those decisions to come. It’s many, many weeks too late.”

Hamilton said Ferrari had not executed cleanly in either qualifying or the race, despite the effort being made by its factory personnel and supporters. The team had struggled to coordinate slipstreaming during qualifying, an especially important factor at Monza’s high-speed layout, and Hamilton was nearly eliminated in Q2. He was then released late for his first Q3 run and failed to secure a tow, before recovering to qualify behind Leclerc after Oscar Piastri’s impeding penalty.

At the first chicane, Hamilton appeared to move ahead on the inside. He remained in front at the next apex, but Leclerc pushed him wide and Hamilton dropped from the front group to 10th. Leclerc later described the incident as mutual responsibility, saying “we went too far”. Hamilton disagreed.

“There was no ‘we’ in it,” he said. “I don’t race dirty. I’ve always raced clean and fairly and always left space.”

The confrontation adds to the tension highlighted in Leclerc’s response to the Monza clash. Hamilton says Ferrari needs clearly defined rules of engagement, pointing to his Mercedes experience, where such guidelines were written down.

“Here, there are no rules,” he said. “We’ve got to change things because it’s not helping us move forward.”