Hamilton: "Ferrari Has No Rules, We Must Change That Now"

Charles Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton turned Ferrari’s celebration weekend at Monza into an internal crisis. The Italian Grand Prix should have been a festival of red cars in front of thousands of tifosi. But when the race ended, Ferrari left its home circuit with a heavily damaged car, no driver in the Top 5, and one major unanswered question: why did two teammates destroy each other’s race on the opening lap? Lewis Hamilton, the seven-time world champion, did not choose diplomatic language. He said clearly that what happened with Charles Leclerc could have been prevented if clear team rules existed. He did not stop at blaming his Monegasque teammate. Hamilton also criticized team principal Fred Vasseur for failing to set explicit guidelines when both drivers fight for position. The collision began at the start. Leclerc started third, while Hamilton started fourth. When the lights went out, both drivers aimed for Turn 2. Hamilton believes he was ahead at the apex and that there was no "both sides" version of the incident. He was pushed off track and lost several positions. Shortly after, Leclerc crashed and retired. When the race was restarted, Hamilton fought back to sixth place. For Ferrari, that was a disastrous result at a home race. Hamilton described the incident with frustration: "I was ahead going into Turn 2. When I got to the apex, I was ahead. There was no ‘us’ in that. There really is not much more to say. It was very bad for the team and, obviously, it made us lose a lot of positions." For Hamilton, this is not only about an aggressive move. The deeper problem lies in how the team is managed. He insisted that he always races cleanly and fairly, always leaves space for rivals. Since joining Ferrari, he says he has tried to respect his teammate’s space and avoid putting the team in a difficult position. But he cannot do that alone unless the team sets common guidelines. Hamilton was especially tough on Fred Vasseur, saying that all decisions come from the top. He said: "Ultimately, this comes from above. Decisions are transmitted downwards and they start with Fred. There is a limit to how much you can say, how much you can insist or shout it from above." In Hamilton’s view, Ferrari needs to change its communication system and introduce internal racing guidelines, often called rules of engagement. He does not want two Ferrari drivers to ruin each other’s campaign because emotions take over in the opening laps. He said: "I said yesterday that we need to review how we communicate. If we keep going down the same road, we will keep getting the same result. And we keep getting the same result. We have to change things because this is not helping us move forward. Ultimately, it is about setting rules of engagement." This was not the first time Hamilton had trouble with a teammate. His strongest memories are from his battles with Nico Rosberg at Mercedes. But Hamilton uses that experience to compare with Ferrari. He believes Mercedes had written racing rules at the time. Thanks to those rules, the internal battles between him and Rosberg rarely turned into serious collisions. There were a few tense moments, but most of the time the system worked. Hamilton said: "When I was at Mercedes, we had written rules of engagement. In fact, we almost never had big problems. There may have been a moment between me and Nico, a couple of times, but most of the time it worked well. Here there are no rules. And I think that is something we have to change." The comparison between the old Mercedes and current Ferrari highlights a management issue, not simply an individual mistake. When two drivers start third and fourth at a home race, the pressure to win is enormous. But precisely because the pressure is so high, the team needs clear instructions in advance. At Mercedes, those guidelines helped both drivers understand their limits. They could still fight, but they were not allowed to cost the team points through avoidable contact. At Ferrari, Hamilton does not see the same process. The drivers seem to rely on personal judgment, and the result is one broken car at Monza plus a driver fighting for points from behind. In truth, Hamilton is not asking for anything unusual. He wants the team to sit down, decide who is attacking, who is defending, and in which situations they are allowed to go wheel-to-wheel. Team boss Fred Vasseur needs to introduce a clear set of rules and take responsibility when drivers break them. Without that, Ferrari will continue to face media storms, lose points, and weaken its own championship challenge. For fans who have followed Ferrari for years, this story is not entirely new. Major teams always face challenges when they have two talented and ambitious drivers. But the difference is in how the team manages that ambition. Mercedes once built a system strong enough to allow Hamilton and Rosberg to fight intensely for several seasons without turning their internal duel into a permanent disaster. Ferrari is still relying on the goodwill of individual drivers, and goodwill should never be the main management tool. Monza was an expensive warning. Ferrari arrived expecting to celebrate in front of its home crowd and left with almost no points from one of its cars. Hamilton may have lost positions because he was pushed off the track, but what worries him more is the team’s long-term future. Without rules, similar situations will happen again. In a championship where every point can decide the title, Ferrari cannot afford to repeat this kind of mistake. The big question now is not who had fault in the Turn 2 clash. The bigger question is whether Fred Vasseur has enough authority to do what Mercedes once did with Hamilton and Rosberg. Lewis Hamilton has spoken clearly. He does not need an apology or an explanation. He needs a written set of racing rules, published and enforced. Without that, Ferrari will keep making things difficult for itself, and the championship battle will slip away one lap at a time on its own home turf.