Hamilton had spent the days leading into the Italian Grand Prix asking Ferrari, in public, to line up behind his title bid. By Sunday evening at Monza, the seven-time world champion was arguing the window for that conversation had already closed.

“I think from today, we just lost so much ground to them on points, and it’s far too late for those decisions to come,” Hamilton said, describing the team orders debate as “many, many weeks too late.”

The comments came after a race in which Hamilton and Leclerc collided at the second part of the first chicane, the Briton running wide into the gravel and dropping to tenth.

Over the radio, Hamilton yelled: “Charles pushed me off.” A lap later, Leclerc lost the rear of his SF-26 at Parabolica and crashed out.

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Leclerc accepts blame

Leclerc did not try to shift responsibility for the Turn 2 contact after the race, conceding to reporters that the fight had gone beyond what team-mates should allow.

“It’s true though that we went too far, I think, with Lewis in Turn One,” he said.

The Monegasque also pushed back on the idea that a war is being fought inside the Scuderia.

“I don’t really know who is forcing the narrative, that we are one against the other,” he told AFP.

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Leclerc said afterwards he would be checked for vision issues following his Parabolica impact before the next round in Madrid.

Vasseur wants the conversation in private first

Ferrari team principal Fred Vasseur declined to referee the clash in front of the media, telling reporters he had barely spoken to his drivers before facing the cameras.

“Yes, I spoke with Lewis for two seconds and not at all with Charles. No, I prefer to discuss with them first than with you first,” Vasseur said.

He did concede that a decision on team orders can no longer be postponed indefinitely, while cautioning that freezing positions is never straightforward.

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“To freeze positions when you are the team principal, don’t imagine that it’s an easy choice. You do it for the team, you do it for the results at the end. But it’s never an easy call.”

Antonelli win widens the gap

Kimi Antonelli won at Monza from 19th on the grid, passing Mercedes team-mate George Russell late on, with Max Verstappen third. Antonelli now leads Russell by 66 points in the drivers’ standings.

Hamilton’s sixth place was Ferrari’s only score of the afternoon. He described the whole day as “a bit devastating” and “tough to swallow,” and admitted he had spent much of it exposed.

“I was just mostly a sitting duck to those guys around me,” he told reporters.

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The next round is the Spanish Grand Prix in Madrid, where Leclerc has already flagged he will undergo further medical checks before getting back in the car.

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