I will not be silenced – Lewis Hamilton stands by Charles Leclerc criticism

Lewis Hamilton vowed not to be “silenced” at Ferrari as he said he had no regrets over his stinging criticism of team-mate Charles Leclerc.

The 41-year-old was furious with Leclerc during and after last weekend’s Mexican Grand Prix, questioning his mentality and suggesting the Monegasque’s approach is ‘either I win or none of us do’.

It came after Leclerc charged around the outside of pole-sitter Hamilton on lap one, taking the lead after running off the track while the seven-time world champion lost out to race-winner Max Verstappen.

Leclerc was absent from Thursday’s media day in Brazil after attending the birth of his first child so has not had a chance to respond, while Hamilton says the pair have not had an opportunity to talk to team principal Fred Vasseur.

But Hamilton was in no mood to take a step back, insisting he will continue to speak his mind amid reports his comments have caused controversy within the team.

“I don’t really care what everyone thinks about what I said, I wear my heart on my sleeve and I say how I feel in the moment,” Hamilton said.

“Of course there’s sometimes you say things and maybe you might regret it afterwards. I don’t.

“I’m never going to apologise for being authentic and real and I’m not going to be silenced. I have not been asked to not say anything and that’s just the way it is.”

Hamilton believed Ferrari could have achieved a one-two in Mexico and asked the team for “serious talks”, again demanding a written rules of a engagement for how they race on track.

Put to him Leclerc fights him harder than other drivers, Hamilton said: “Yes. I can see what you see.

“Singapore he was fully alongside Max, wheel-to-wheel, fully on the inside and he backed off.

“It is definitely different, but if you look at the team-mates it was the same with Sebastian (Vettel), it was the same with Carlos (Sainz).”

Leclerc joined the Ferrari academy in 2016 and made his F1 debut for the Scuderia in 2019.

The 29-year-old is a huge part of the set-up at Ferrari, a point Hamilton acknowledges makes his push for change more challenging.

“He is very much embedded within the team and I knew that it would always be a challenge, I’ve always respected that,” Hamilton added.

“I’ve really worked hard to build a good relationship with Charles and bridge the gap and make sure that we’re harmonious and work hard together.

“Naturally it’s not so easy having someone like me come into a team because I’m very outspoken and I push and push and push for so many changes and I’m going to be pushing for more and as long as I’m here that’s how it’s going to be.

“I’m here to win and to be able to win you have to work with everyone around you. I truly believe that this team can be fighting for the championship next year.”

As part of Hamilton’s criticism last weekend, he mentioned watching Leclerc fight with previous team-mate Sainz and how that had regularly cost the team.

Sainz says he had no issues with Leclerc but instead focused on how intense the Ferrari fanbase can be with their drivers.

“I have a relatively good memory of my time with Charles and the fights that we had,” Sainz said.

“It is true that when you are fighting for wins there is more pressure and things on the line, so naturally you become a bit more selfish.

“I always respected Charles, he always respected me. We never had contacts, we had strong fights.

“I think what is more difficult is more the PR and the fanbase was ignited back then, very polarised between Charles and me.

“I remember suffering a bit from the very hardcore fans of Charles wishing me bad, maybe some Italian media also saying that I was not being enough of a number two when I needed to me, and vice versa.”