Lewis Hamilton contract revelation comes back to haunt Ferrari after Leclerc clash

Ferrari have a major problem - their drivers Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc are both fighting for internal dominance, and there seems to be precious little they can do about it.

Hamilton has been asking for something akin to 'rules of engagement' within the team for a couple of months now, having been frustrated by multiple battles with Leclerc, and Sunday's Mexican Grand Prix saw that head-to-head come to the fore again.

Hamilton and Leclerc clashed on the first lap while running first and second, with the incident moving Hamilton back to third and landing his team-mate with a five-second penalty, allowing Max Verstappen to take the win despite the Ferraris having the best cars on the day.

The seven-time world champion talked on team radio about 'big, big problems' from the incident after repeatedly asking on the radio for Leclerc to be punished, before claiming that the five-second penalty levied against the Monegasque wasn't harsh enough.

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Vasseur: Lewis knew the situation when he signed up

Hamilton's frustrations, however, look likely to continue and team principal Fred Vasseur's words back in September might just be the defining ones of the Lewis era at Maranello.

It was at that moment the Frenchman revealed that 'it's clear in the contact' that both the Brit and Leclerc must be treated as number one drivers.

“I'll let you in on something," said Vasseur.

"We've chosen to have two number one drivers, two drivers capable of winning races, with this approach of serving both drivers equally. It's a choice we make with the drivers.

“They know very well, when they come to us, that's how it is. Lewis knew it. It's clear in the contract. It's a strategic choice.

"Some teams decide to have a number one driver and a number two driver, while others decide to have two number one drivers. Both have advantages and disadvantages. We stand by our philosophy. Everything is based on respect."

What next for Lewis Hamilton at Ferrari?

Where does that leave Hamilton? In essence, up an unpleasant-smelling creek with no means of propulsion.

It seems unlikely that Leclerc will stop being the kind of racing driver who goes for what he sees as potential race-winning moves at the expense of his own team-mate, and at this point it seems just as unlikely that Ferrari will ask him to do so.

As Vasseur said, it's clear in the contract. And publicly asking for your team's day to be ruined further with harsher penalties for your team-mate is unlikely to do much to change that. What a mess.

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