Lewis Hamilton has revealed Ferrari not having written rules of engagement led to tense battle with Charles Leclerc at the Formula 1 Italian Grand Prix.
Hamilton was only able to muster a sixth-placed finish at the chequered flag despite a second-row start at Monza on Sunday.
The Ferrari driver opted to start the Italian GP on the red-walled Soft compound, hoping for a quick launch off the line, but so did his team-mate Charles Leclerc.
Heading into the first chicane, Hamilton dove down the inside of the Monegasque. But Leclerc held his line, which led to the slightest of contact, sending Hamilton onto the gravel on the outside.
Speaking to media, Hamilton was adamant that he was ahead of Leclerc at the apex.
“I was ahead in Turn 2 by the apex. I was ahead,” he said.
Hamilton fell back to eighth, with Leclerc crashing out at Parabolica in an unrelated incident – a carbon copy of his 2020 shunt.
When put to him that Ferrari and the Tifosi might be getting worried by the duo getting their elbows out, which eventually costs the team points, Hamilton was quick to point out that at least he would never revert to “dirty” tactics.
“I don’t race dirty. I’ve always raced clean and fairly and always left space,” Hamilton added.
“So, I don’t think they should be worried about me. I’ve come into the team and tried to be respectful of space and definitely not put the team in jeopardy.
“I stand by that and that’s all I can talk about.”
Lewis Hamilton puts the onus on Ferrari management with Mercedes comparison after F1 Italian GP
Hamilton was vocal about how the team has lost points across the 2026 campaign with its ‘poor execution’.
Reflecting on the 53-lap race at Monza, the seven-time World Champion explained that all he could do was drive the car. The ‘operational’ details were in the hands of Team Principal Fred Vasseur.
“You have to speak to Fred about the other side and the decisions that are taken there,” he continued.
“I’ll keep pushing and trying to get more from the team and from our car and from the engineers and design and everything like that.
“But operationally, a lot of points have fallen through in qualifying, we see it repeatedly. Today was probably a good opportunity to have two cars at the front to get a lot of points.”
The Briton further revealed that, unlike Mercedes, the Maranello-based team does not have “written rules of engagement”, which he strongly believes is the root cause of incidents like the one he faced at the start on Sunday.
“When I was at Mercedes, we had a written rule of engagement. So, we never really had too bad. There was a moment maybe with me and Nico a couple of times,” Hamilton examined.
“More often than not, it was good. Here there are no rules. And I think that’s something that needs to try and fix up.”
But Hamilton quickly reigned in his open criticism of the team.
“I don’t want to get into arguing and fighting about my team,” he concluded.
“At the end of the day, I’m trying my hardest to make this team and help this team get to where it needs to be. We didn’t do so well today.
“It’s painful enough as it is to be badgering my guys. They go home to their families. They’re working really, really hard.
“Yes, we didn’t get it right today. It isn’t good enough. But we’ll go back to the drawing table. We’ll come back and show up with good energy in the next race. And we’ll keep trying.”
Next up for Hamilton and Ferrari is the brand-new Madring circuit for the Spanish GP.
Not completely uncharted territory for the Scuderia, though, given they are the only team to have conducted a filming day on the track earlier in the season.
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