FIA strips Daily Mail reporter McEvoy of F1 accreditation after insult to Leclerc

A column and a withdrawn accreditation

On 4 November the Daily Mail published an opinion column by Jonathan McEvoy, who has covered Formula 1 for more than two decades, in which he called Charles Leclerc a 'sneaky little bastard' after the Mexico Grand Prix. The column dealt with the opening-corner clash between Leclerc and his Ferrari teammate Lewis Hamilton, which cost Ferrari a strong chance of victory. Max Verstappen won that race after Leclerc was penalized, and Verstappen held off Hamilton for the rest of the contest. On Thursday, 12 November, FIA general manager Alberto Villarreal wrote to McEvoy withdrawing his accreditation for the remainder of the 2026 season, with immediate effect. The letter explained the decision in these words:

“The FIA considers that your article falls short of the standards of professionalism expected of media representatives accredited to cover the FIA Formula 1 world championship.”

McEvoy, who has worked for the paper for 21 years and reported on nearly 400 races, is therefore barred from the last three grands prix. The letter states that the Daily Mail can still be represented at the Las Vegas, Qatar and Abu Dhabi races, but not by McEvoy.

Boycott and reaction

The Daily Mail's head of sport, Chris Dean, called the decision an attack on press freedom:

“This is an unprecedented and outrageous attack on the freedom of the press.”

On Friday, 13 November, the paper announced that it would boycott the final three races, and it said no reports would be published from those races or their press conferences. Dean said the paper was in dangerous territory when the FIA responds so heavily to criticism of a single driver, even when that criticism is mild and fair. Former F1 boss Bernie Ecclestone called the decision crazy.

Second column and the Hamilton rivalry

McEvoy's second column, published on Thursday, alleged that Ferrari team principal Fred Vasseur had informed on him to the FIA, and that this was why the ban followed. The rivalry between the two Ferrari drivers goes back to the start of the Italian Grand Prix in September, Ferrari's home race, where they also clashed. During the Mexico race, which was halted mid-way after a crash for Cadillac driver Valtteri Bottas, Hamilton told his team over the radio:

“We've got big problems, big big problems”

Hamilton believed Leclerc fought him harder on track than he fought other drivers, and he had voiced his irritation about the matter several times.

Championship standings after Mexico

After the Mexico Grand Prix, Kimi Antonelli of Mercedes led the drivers' standings with 390 points. Max Verstappen was second on 279, followed by George Russell on 262 and Lewis Hamilton on 261. Charles Leclerc had 249 points and Lando Norris 246, so the title fight in the points table stays tight behind Antonelli.

Kimi Antonelli390

Max Verstappen279

George Russell262

Lewis Hamilton261

Charles Leclerc249

Lando Norris246

Kimi Antonelli

390 points

Max Verstappen

279 points

George Russell

262 points

Lewis Hamilton

261 points

Charles Leclerc

249 points

Lando Norris

246 points

Data from the article text