Lewis Hamilton demands Ferrari find solutions after latest mess with Charles Leclerc

Lewis Hamilton has called on Ferrari to "figure out" how to avoid throwing away strong results through wheel-to-wheel battles with Charles Leclerc.

Not for the first time this F1 season, Hamilton and Leclerc have cost themselves dearly by fighting each other on the first lap.

This time, they stood a good chance of taking a third victory of the campaign, and a one-two finish at the Mexico City Grand Prix

The Ferrari team-mates emerged from Turn 1 in first and second at the Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez, but Leclerc's eagerness to attack saw them both run wide at Turn 4. Hamilton dropped to third, behind Max Verstappen.

The Monegasque driver was handed a race-defining five-second time penalty for going off track and gaining an advantage, for what was ultimately a needless risk at that stage of the grand prix.

It follows a similar, costly incident at Monza, in front of the adoring Tifosi, where Leclerc pushed the seven-time F1 driver's champion off at the second corner, with only Pierre Gasly and George Russell ahead.

Reflecting on a result that slipped through the Scuderia's fingers, Hamilton, who finished second with Leclerc fourth, told Sky Sports F1: "I gave it everything.

"Unfortunately, the race was lost in the first few corners, and it's a shame because we could have easily finished first and second in this race if we worked together as a team."

Hamilton was keen to stress that he and Leclerc do not race solely for themselves, and that they represent a wider team, making squandering such opportunities unacceptable; something a furious Fred Vasseur also said.

The 41-year-old vented his frustration over team radio during the race, including highlighting that such incidents had been covered in the drivers' briefing, where it was agreed positions would be given back in such scenarios, which Leclerc could not do once Verstappen got by.

Asked whether there was a discussion at Ferrari prior to the race about being more strategic during the opening lap, Hamilton replied: "We didn't sit down and talk before.

"Again, it's something I mentioned in the past, but it's all fair and well racing against your team-mate as long as it's not to the detriment of the team's points and the team's opportunity of getting the result.

"At the end of the day, the team has to come first, and today we lost the win for the team; today we lost points, I lost second in the championship, and that's a real shame.

"It affects so many people back at the factory. Luckily we still got points so we can hold onto second in the constructors', but it impacts the people that put in all the hard work, and the Tifosi. So it wasn't good."

Whilst there were no conversations at Ferrari before the race, Hamilton insisted they needed to happen afterwards, maintaining the team would address the situation.

"It definitely needs some discussions for sure, but we'll take it offline and figure out what we can do," he added.