Ferrari team principal Fred Vasseur gave a difficult assessment of the internal fighting at the Mexico City Grand Prix.
Ferrari lined up for the Mexico City GP in first and third, and the pace shown throughout the week suggested at least a double podium. Hamilton, who started on pole, looked primed to win.
However, as the lights went out, the story unfolded differently. Charles Leclerc made a strong start off the line, quickly getting ahead of George Russell, who had started second. By the second corner, Leclerc lunged down the inside of Hamilton but failed to make the move.
At Turn 4, the incident occurred, with Leclerc braking extremely late in hopes of making it around the outside. However, the duo couldn’t make the corner; Hamilton, who also braked late, minimised his corner cutting, while Leclerc ran across the grass and held the lead of the race.
Normally a driver would be expected to return the place after gaining an advantage, but as Max Verstappen overtook Hamilton, Leclerc’s opportunity disappeared unless he was willing to gift Verstappen the lead.
Instead, he tried to pull a gap, accepting he would likely receive a penalty. The precedent was 10 seconds for leaving the track and gaining an advantage; however, Leclerc received 5 seconds.
This was due to mitigating circumstances: Hamilton also had no hope of making the corner at Turn 4, and both drivers left the track during the fight.
Hamilton was vocal on the radio for the rest of the race, calling for the team to do something, only calming down when he made it back past his teammate on the restart after a Red Flag.
Leclerc suffered a lock-up on the restart, leaving him defending against Lando Norris until the chequered flag.
In the end, Ferrari came home with P2 and P4, which on the surface is not a bad result, but when the team looked at the weekend’s potential, it felt like a blow.
Vasseur ‘frustrated’
Vasseur, after the race, spoke about the incident, admitting the track layout doesn’t help, but it’s not an excuse for letting go of a potential 1-2.
“The layout of the track, for sure, is not helping,” he said. “Because if you have a look, the last couple of years we had this kind of issue. But it can’t be an excuse.
“Honestly, I’m a bit frustrated, because I think we did a proper step forward in terms of performance the last couple of events, and we were one-two at Turn 4. I don’t remember the last overtaking in Mexico, maybe in the late seventies.
“And when you are one-two at Turn 4, you don’t imagine that you don’t win the race. It’s a lot of frustration for me, but I’m not the most important. I think it’s a lot of frustration for the 2,000 people working for the project – and this I will need time to digest.”
Commentators urged throughout the race that Ferrari needs to implement rules of engagement or regulations on the two teammates racing each other. However, when put to Vasseur, he argued that it should come down to respect.
“I think we can discuss ages for this, but it’s not a matter to discuss before if you are on the right-hand side, if you are on the left-hand side. My only discussion is a matter of respect.”
Ferrari has often been bigger than a driver. The team expects a lot from its drivers, including sacrificing your desire to win in favour of the team’s goals. He urged that typically that is what respect means to him.
“I think this is typically what respect means,” he said. “They are not working for themselves; they are working for a group; they are working for a lot of sponsors. They are working for the 2,000 people of the company. The guys, when we had to push for the upgrades, they were working night and day – and we have to keep this in mind.”
Leclerc is no stranger to driving for Ferrari, nor a stranger to playing the team game.
However, defense of the Monegasque has noted that the 2026 is in its closing stages, the Driver’s Championship has been won and Ferrari sit over 100 points clear of the Constructors. In that vein, why should a driver not fight for the win?
Leclerc defended himself after the race, telling the media that he wanted more communication with the pit lane on whether they wanted him to give the place back or keep going. Vasseur explained how acting that quickly can be difficult.
“It was not very clear,” he said. “We had discussion with the race control. But you have to act before Turn 11. Turn 11, you have five seconds delay between the video and the reality, it meant that you are already in Turn 11.”
“The regulation is clear that you have to give back the position in this case, before Turn 11. And we agreed before the race that they have to do it by themselves.”
One of the most contentious moments of the race came during the Red Flag, when Hamilton said on the radio, “We have big problems”, before being seen heading into the garage with his helmet still on and visibly angry.
However, Vasseur didn’t want to be drawn into making a comment before he’d spoken to the Brit.
“Let me discuss with them,” the Ferrari boss added. “I don’t want to interpret what they said on the radio.”
The pace to win
Despite the tensions still on the surface, the team had positives to take away from the weekend.
They clearly had the pace to win, as they did in Austin. It is a step forward they’ve been waiting for and hope to build on.
“Honestly, we are all in the ballpark,” he said. “If you have a look at all the sessions, one time it’s Charles, one time it’s Lewis, one time it’s Max, one time it’s Norris yesterday. It means that we are all there. It’s much more linked to the track layout and engine sensitivity than just the package or the concept.
“But yeah, I think we are there with the others, and it will be another fight in Sao Paulo next week. It’s good for F1, good for the championship, this kind of situation when you have six, seven or eight guys who can win the race in the first season of the regulations.”
Vasseur told the media that by Monday, the team would reset and address any issues. Hamilton shared the same sentiment, praising how the team moved on from any issues and focused on the next week.
READ MORE: Lewis Hamilton airs fury at Charles Leclerc ‘mentality’ after Mexico GP clash
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