Charles Leclerc singled out by Italian newspaper with brutal Hamilton clash verdict

Charles Leclerc has been singled out for brutal criticism by Italian newspaper Corriere della Sera following his clash with Ferrari team-mate Lewis Hamilton during Sunday's Mexican Grand Prix.

Leclerc enraged pole sitter Hamilton when he tried to overtake his team-mate on Lap 1 at Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez, causing the British star to lose two positions and costing himself a five-second time penalty from the stewards.

The high-profile clash allowed Red Bull's Max Verstappen to step in to take the race win, while Hamilton and Leclerc eventually finished P2 and P4.

The fallout has been predictably explosive, with Hamilton left furious by his team-mate's actions and team principal Fred Vasseur raging about 'huge disrespect' to the iconic Ferrari brand.

Italian media were of course quick to provide strong takes on what had occurred in Mexico City, and Flavio Vanetti in Corriere had a particularly brutal verdict.

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Leclerc 'blinded by the desire to win'

He blamed Leclerc's apparent desire to beat Hamilton at all costs, writing: "Once again blinded by the desire to win, by the rush to get ahead. Granted, at the Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez circuit, being in the lead right from the start can be decisive.

"But then there's also a long race to manage, with all its unexpected events. Exaggeration was the key word for the Mexican Leclerc, who ended up going to bed without a podium finish. His tough and beautiful defence of fourth place over Norris only added to the disappointment."

'Is Hamilton useful to Ferrari?'

Vanetti referenced Hamilton's anger at Leclerc's ill-fated move, but also posed an intriguing question which might now be giving the Scuderia some sleepless nights.

"Scenes of extraordinary anger from Sir Lewis: he takes it out on the stewards (in his opinion, Leclerc's punishment was too lenient, so he didn't mince his words: 'They stole my victory'), then during the red flag stop for Bottas's accident, he abruptly drops his electric scooter in front of the pits; finally, he complains about the team.

"Bottom line: he can't enjoy second place, we understand that not winning after starting from pole is annoying. Considering the situation with Charles there is the risk that soon they will need to talk in a boxing ring. Is Hamilton useful to Ferrari?"

Vasseur should have stopped this claims Corriere

Vasseur also comes in for criticism from Vanetti, essentially for not putting in place measures to stop this from happening. Particularly after Monza.

"At the end of the race, he [Vasseur] thundered: 'Our drivers showed disrespect towards those who work on the team'.

"Simple question: shouldn't those in charge of the team have prevented certain sparks, already evident during the season, from starting a fire?"

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