Montoya urges Ferrari to intervene after Hamilton and Leclerc clash at Monza

Juan Pablo Montoya has called on Ferrari’s senior leadership to hold urgent talks with Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc after the two drivers clashed on the opening lap of the Italian Grand Prix at Monza, round 13 of the 2026 Formula 1 season. Mercedes capitalised on Ferrari’s chaos to lock out the top two positions, with Kimi Antonelli leading the way from 19th on the grid.

Ferrari’s afternoon fell apart almost immediately. Hamilton dived down the inside of Leclerc into Turn 1 before attempting to go around the outside at Turn 2. Leclerc held his line, and the seven-time champion was forced into the gravel, dropping to 10th. The damage compounded on lap two when Leclerc, defending against McLaren’s Oscar Piastri, ran wide over the kerbs exiting Parabolica, lost control, and crashed into the barriers. Hamilton recovered to finish sixth.

Speaking after the race, Montoya argued that team principal Fred Vasseur alone was not enough — both drivers needed to travel to Maranello for a direct conversation with the wider management structure ahead of this weekend’s Spanish Grand Prix in Madrid.

“They need to go to not only Fred but above Fred and sit them down,” Montoya said. “Both of them need to go to Maranello this week, and they need to sit down and have a proper talk because, in my opinion, Charles came out and said, ‘I raced Lewis like I would have raced anybody else.’ But it’s your team-mate, and you’ve got to respect your team-mate, and you’ve got to respect the team.”

Hamilton, who described the result as “a tough one to swallow”, now sits third in the drivers’ championship, 10 points behind second-placed George Russell and 76 adrift of championship leader Antonelli. Leclerc is fifth with 155 points, 112 behind the Italian.

The incident raises fresh questions about internal harmony at Ferrari, who have now watched a home race at Monza turn into a public relations setback at a critical stage of the season. With the constructors’ fight still alive, any repeat in Madrid could prove costly.