Fred Vasseur, the head of Ferrari F1, emphasizes that he has reconciled with Charles Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton following their widely covered confrontation during the recent Mexican Grand Prix.
During the event in Mexico City, both Hamilton and Leclerc ventured off the track in the first lap while competing for the lead, resulting in Hamilton losing his position to Max Verstappen, while Leclerc received a penalty and subsequently surrendered the lead to the Red Bull driver.
Verstappen went on to secure victory in the race, with Hamilton finishing second and Leclerc in fourth, thus depriving the team of a potential third victory of the season due to the incident on lap one. Hamilton expressed significant anger regarding Leclerc’s racing style at the start, advocating for the stewards to impose a heavier penalty on his teammate for leaving the track.
The seven-time world champion called for serious discussions with both Leclerc and Vasseur concerning the intensity of his teammate’s racing, while Vasseur shared his disappointment regarding what he perceived as a lack of consideration for the 2,000 staff members at Maranello striving to deliver competitive cars for both drivers.
The dialogues occurred on Thursday evening in Sao Paulo, and addressing the media for the first time since the previous weekend, Vasseur firmly stated that the directive to both drivers was unmistakable: Ferrari must always take precedence.
“The principles remain constant. They are determined competitors, but they need to show mutual respect,” Vasseur remarked. “Above all, they must respect the brand, the team, and the people both at home and on the circuit. We invest substantial effort into this, and the communication was clear and will remain so.”
Lewis Hamilton, Ferrari
Photo by: James Sutton / Formula 1 / Formula Motorsport Ltd via Getty Images
On Thursday, Hamilton indicated that he concurred with the notion that Leclerc raced him more aggressively than other competitors, while Vasseur pointed to Leclerc’s bold maneuver against Verstappen in Austin to temper those assertions.
“He mentioned that he might have been more intense in his racing style against him than against others, but if you observe Charles’ performance in Austin during the initial sector, everyone called it remarkable,” Vasseur explained. “The distinction between the two is delicate. Nonetheless, he did not collide with the other vehicle.”
The French team principal continued: “Indeed, in this situation, we collectively fell short because we held positions one and two but failed to clinch the race in the end. This means we acknowledge our shortcomings and need to take action.”
“However, the takeaway from our meeting last night was unequivocal—it was a strong reminder that Ferrari must come first, in terms of the brand, for the employees, and for the Tifosi. This is an essential principle that we must keep in mind.”
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– The Autosport.com Team
