Ferrari's own fight lets Verstappen win in Mexico City

On the first lap of the Mexico City Grand Prix, Charles Leclerc cut across a chicane, the tight double bend on the track, to take the lead from his Ferrari team-mate, Lewis Hamilton. Max Verstappen went on to win the race, with Hamilton second.

The lights-out moment was a long time coming for Hamilton. He had qualified on pole, the fastest time in qualifying and the car at the front of the grid, beating George Russell to the spot. It was his first pole position for Ferrari. Leclerc qualified third, and Kimi Antonelli started fourth for Mercedes.

Leclerc was candid about Saturday. He said he had not done a good job in qualifying, that Hamilton had done a great job, and that it was as simple as that. He later said he was angry with himself for losing out to Hamilton.

The race was briefly halted by a red flag, which is the signal to stop the cars. BBC Sport reported that the stoppage was caused by a crash involving Valtteri Bottas' Cadillac. Over team radio during that period, Hamilton told his team: "We've got big problems. Big, big problems."

Ferrari's tension is not new. In Singapore last month, Hamilton overrode the pit wall, the team's strategy leaders, and chose his own plan. He later apologised to the team. He also felt Leclerc should have let him by when the two were on different tyres, but Ferrari did not make that call. At the race before the Italian Grand Prix, Leclerc ignored a team order to let Hamilton pass when they were on different strategies.

After Mexico City, Hamilton did not hide his frustration. "Ultimately, that lost us the win today," he said. He added that Ferrari "have to have some serious talks behind closed doors" about the fight between its two drivers.

Before the weekend, Hamilton had described Ferrari's final five races of 2026 as being like test races. He said the aim was to close the gap to Mercedes and Red Bull, the teams ahead of Ferrari in the championship. Mexico City was a harsh first step on that route, with the two Ferrari cars costing each other a race that could have gone their way.

For the rest of the season, the question is whether the team can turn the pace it showed in qualifying into results when it matters. Its drivers have shown they can be quick. Keeping them out of each other's way is a different job.