What doesn't make sense about Hamilton and Leclerc's Italian GP clash

There is nothing particularly new in the way Charles Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton conducted themselves on and off the track on Sunday, either in the history of Formula 1 or motorsport more generally.

Clashes between team-mates have, in some cases, reached levels of tension that make what happened between the two Ferrari drivers at Monza look relatively minor. But in this particular case, something does not quite add up. Perhaps there is something we are missing - because otherwise it remains difficult to understand.

The major clashes of the past between team-mates regarded as "top drivers" have always had a clear objective.

Ayrton Senna and Alain Prost, Nigel Mansell and Nelson Piquet, Mark Webber and Sebastian Vettel, Nico Rosberg and Hamilton: all of these pairings became fierce rivals when they had a car capable of fighting for the world championship - when, in other words, success depended almost entirely on their ability to beat the driver on the other side of the garage.

Take the most recent example. In 2013, Hamilton's first year at Mercedes, the car allowed him to win one race, while Rosberg ended the season with two victories. The W04 was not a championship-winning car, and the relationship between the two Mercedes drivers remained excellent. The following season, with the arrival of Mercedes' formidable first hybrid power unit, things changed dramatically. Suddenly, the biggest prize was at stake, and the pair went from eating pizza together in Monaco to an intense sporting rivalry that extended well beyond the track.

With Leclerc and Hamilton, the motive is a mystery.

Charles Leclerc, Ferrari, Lewis Hamilton, Ferrari

Photo by: Andy Hone/ LAT Images via Getty Images

It is worth stressing that what has happened between the Ferrari drivers is not comparable to the examples above. Whatever Ferrari may say publicly about its ambitions - not least to keep motivation high both at the track and at the factory - it is difficult to seriously believe that its drivers are currently fighting for the world title. The numbers say so, as does the story of this season.

Nor is there a future to secure or contractual status to fight for. Both have the same opportunities, and both have their 2027 plans long since settled. And both, after all, are paid handsomely enough to make a joke heard in the Monza paddock yesterday rather inappropriate: no, this is definitely not a case of two people fighting over crumbs.

And that last point is important: ultimately, both are paid by Ferrari to deliver for Ferrari. They are established drivers, from whom you would expect an approach that always takes the team's interests into account - particularly when they don't have a car capable of making a world championship fight a realistic prospect.

Hamilton spent the whole of 2025 swallowing his frustration, unable to produce the level of performance that his team-mate consistently delivered. Having rediscovered his pace, he is probably enjoying the chance to prove a few points to everyone, Leclerc included.

Leclerc, meanwhile, saw his status grow considerably last year after consistently outperforming the seven-time world champion. Just 12 months later, the situation has changed, with Hamilton now comfortably ahead of him in the championship standings.

But the need to prove yourself against your team-mate is usually more pressing in the midfield, where one podium can define a whole season and a driver's future is rarely guaranteed. Beating your team-mate at any cost may be a priority for someone fighting to keep their seat - not for two established stars whose futures are already secure.

Frédéric Vasseur, Ferrari

Photo by: Eric Le Galliot

Now the ball is in Fred Vasseur's court. Ferrari's team principal met both drivers in his office at Monza before the race, but it appears a second meeting may be required.

The principle is simple: the interests of the team must come before individual ambitions. Especially when the prize they are fighting for is not a world championship.

A rivalry can be an asset when it pushes a team towards success. But when there is no world championship at stake and it starts working against the interests of the team, it becomes nothing more than another problem - and Ferrari already has enough of those.