Lewis Hamilton takes clear stance in 'incredibly frustrating' social media statement

Lewis Hamilton has doubled down on his post-Mexico City Grand Prix remarks, taking to social media to express how "incredibly frustrating" his clash with Charles Leclerc was.

Hamilton reiterated his view that the team and the Ferrari fans deserve more than the Scuderia's two drivers ultimately costing themselves the opportunity to fight for victory.

On the first lap at the Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez, the seven-time F1 drivers' champion and Leclerc emerged from the opening sequence of corners leading.

However, the Monegasque driver attacked into Turn 4, with Hamilton attempting in vain to defend the position. Both ran wide and off the track. The former cut the corner, and the latter lost momentum.

The confluence of events allowed Max Verstappen to grab second from Hamilton, preventing Leclerc from giving the position back and all but ensuring he received a five-second time penalty, which handed the Dutchman the lead at the pit stop phase.

The Briton went on to take the chequered flag in second, behind the Red Bull driver. The old adversaries shared the podium with Kimi Antonelli, who was crowned F1's youngest drivers' champion, an experience Hamilton relished.

"Let me start with a huge congratulations to the new champion, Kimi Antonelli," he wrote on social media whilst tagging the new F1 drivers' champion. "To have seen your journey so closely and share to be there celebrating with you, was a highlight of my year.

"So well deserved and a record that will stand for a long time. It was great to see your team at Mercedes celebrating with you. Enjoy this moment, keep your family close, keep your passion and your energy."

[Article continues below]

Hamilton: 'I can't pretend otherwise...'

Turning to the calamitous battle with his team-mate, which Ferrari boss Fred Vasseur argued underlined a "lack of respect" from his drivers, Hamilton insisted he and Leclerc must "grasp every opportunity" after another shot at winning slipped away.

"Our own weekend was one full of challenges. We had a lot thrown at us, but our mechanics and engineers did an incredible job," he said.

"We've grown so much together this year, and that progress has taken a huge effort from everyone on the track and back at the factory.

"That's why losing what could've been a win hurts so much. We need to grasp every opportunity we have, so it's incredibly frustrating, and I can't pretend otherwise."

Hamilton did not hold back in the comments he made following the 71-lap race, and he neither apologised nor claimed responsibility on social media for the unnecessary squandering of a golden chance for which Leclerc is broadly being seen as the catalyst.

The 106-time grand prix winner called for "honest" reflection and to "learn" from the mistakes in judgement that culminated in Verstappen taking victory.

"I know what goes into giving us that opportunity. The standard the team holds itself to, the standard I hold myself to, the standard the fans expect. Everyone deserves to see us at our best and win," the 41-year-old said.

"We're all here to race and want to win. Battling is necessary, but when that battle costs the team, we have to be honest about it and learn from it.

"We can push each other to the limit and still honour the responsibility to everyone who put us on that track.

"I'll keep giving everything I have. My belief in this team hasn't changed, and neither has my responsibility to help us get this right. Stick with us. I'm only just getting started with this team, and we have so much more to come."