Lewis Hamilton forced to deny claims he asked for Ferrari staff member ‘to be replaced’ as behind-the-scenes tensions mount following spat with engineer and clash with Charles Leclerc

Lewis Hamilton has denied a report that he demanded the sacking of a Ferrari staff member.

Italian newspaper Corriere della Sera reported on Tuesday that Hamilton, 41, wanted a trackside employee replaced.

The publication also claimed that Hamilton’s relationship with team principal Fred Vasseur was strained. 

But the Brit, who sits third in the Formula One Drivers’ Championship, has denied these claims in a statement on Instagram.

He wrote: ‘I’ve seen some of the stories that have gone out and I want to clear it up here. I’ve never asked for anyone on my team to be replaced. 

‘Everyone I work with works hard every day, and their dedication is what moves us forward.

‘I always try to empower and lift people to be the best versions of themselves or at least see the best in themselves. 

‘I may not always achieve that but it’s my intention and what I’m here to do. We all work together and that will continue.’

Hamilton also shared a picture of himself alongside Ferrari staff members. 

The report in Italy came after a tense Spanish Grand Prix weekend, which saw Hamilton entangled in a frosty exchange with his engineer after he crashed in practice. 

The ‘car-killing’ Madring claimed another victim when Hamilton – who was on course to set the fastest time of the session – veered off track and into the barriers ahead of qualifying.

The collision caused major damage to the front wing of the car, with seven-time world champion Hamilton told to leave the car and allow for a recovery vehicle to return it to the garage.

However, the 41-year-old defied orders from his engineer and reversed out of the barriers before making his way onto the track, seemingly eager to return the car himself.

He was repeatedly told to ‘stop the car’ but ploughed on with a tyre puncture, before eventually limping to a halt.

Meanwhile, at the preceding Italian GP, he was embroiled in an explosive clash with team-mate Charles Leclerc.

Hamilton was squeezed off the track by Leclerc, clearly the Monegasque’s error, in the second half of the first chicane in early exchanges of positions last Sunday. ‘Charles pushed me off,’ the seven-time world champion complained at the time.

Leclerc crashed out moments later at the Parabolica in an unrelated event, again his mistake, and it was a big bang. Hamilton went on to finish sixth – a combination of failure that amounted to a poor result for Ferrari on home turf.

In a message to team principal Fred Vasseur, the seven-time world champion said: ‘Here there are no rules. And that’s something that needs to change. When I was at Mercedes we had written rules of engagement. And we never had it too bad.

‘There was a moment with me and Nico a couple of times. But more often than not, it was good. Here there are no rules.’

But speaking ahead of the new home of the Spanish Grand Prix, Hamilton revealed he had held crunch talks with his team-mate: ‘What is great is that there was no shying away from having a discussion. We sat face to face, just him (Charles) and me, and talked about it and we were both honest and open and then we quashed it and moved on.

‘That shows maturity from him and it is healthy. It is a relationship we have built over time.

‘Of course, there are going to be frustrations along the way. And there will be more times where we are close because we are approximate in pace and we both want to win as much as each other and do well for the team, but, yes, it is really positive.

‘It has been really positive. I spoke to Fred (Vasseur, Ferrari’s team principal) on Monday and we had clearing out discussions.

‘Naturally we are going to have different opinions, but we come together to find a way forward and that is the positive of where we have got to over the past 15 months, when we can have really great communication internally and same with me and Charles.

‘If you look at the history of the sport, this happened before, so it is no biggie.’