News Summary
- Frédéric Vasseur plans to meet Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc together on Friday at Interlagos, according to The Race.
- Hamilton said the three had yet to sit down face to face and that he was still frustrated by the opening-lap fight in Mexico City.
- The dispute follows a similar discussion after Monza and raises a practical question for Ferrari about how its drivers race each other and how the pit wall intervenes.
Frédéric Vasseur plans to sit Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc down together at Interlagos on Friday, according to The Race. The Ferrari team principal spoke to each driver separately after the Mexico City Grand Prix. The meeting in São Paulo would give all three the chance to go through the opening lap together, from the moment the Ferraris fought for the lead to the point at which Max Verstappen got between them.
Hamilton said on Thursday that Vasseur had been back in Maranello and Leclerc had been in Monaco, leaving the three without an opportunity to meet face to face. Hamilton addressed the dispute on his own at Interlagos after Leclerc missed Thursday’s media duties following the birth of his daughter. Dino Beganovic was already scheduled to drive Leclerc’s car in Friday’s first practice as part of Ferrari’s rookie programme.
“I don’t think everything’s going to get squashed and sorted out in one meeting,” Hamilton said, as reported by The Race.
How Ferrari went from running first and second to chasing Verstappen
Hamilton had put Ferrari on pole in Mexico City, his first Grand Prix pole for the team. He held the lead through the opening sequence of corners, with Leclerc alongside him in the fight for first. The decisive moment came at Turn 4. Leclerc attacked around the outside, both drivers went deep and ran off the circuit, and Leclerc crossed the grass before rejoining ahead. Hamilton returned to the track behind Verstappen.
That left Ferrari with a problem that was harder to solve than simply asking one driver to yield to the other. Giving the place back to Hamilton with Verstappen between them would also have meant surrendering the lead to the Red Bull. Hamilton wanted the position returned. Leclerc later acknowledged cutting the corner and said the communication with Ferrari had left him unsure whether to give the place back.
The stewards judged that Leclerc had gained a lasting advantage by leaving the track and imposed a five-second penalty. Verstappen moved ahead of him in the pit-stop phase and went on to win. Hamilton finished second, 0.799 seconds behind, while Leclerc finished fourth. Ferrari scored 30 constructors’ points from a race in which a one-two would have been worth 43. Hamilton believed the team had the pace to take both places, and the margin at the flag gave him reason to dwell on the position lost at Turn 4.
Vasseur questioned how Ferrari had let the opportunity slip. He pointed to the work that had gone into improving the car and said both drivers had run wide. Asked whether his criticism was aimed specifically at Leclerc, he replied, “No, no, I didn’t target anyone; I want to talk with them.”
Why the Monza conversation matters at Interlagos
Ferrari has already been through a version of this discussion. After the drivers’ first-lap fight at Monza in September, Hamilton called for clearer rules of engagement. He and Leclerc later spoke privately, and Hamilton described the conversation as productive. The two were able to move on from the incident, while the question of formal racing rules remained open.
The circumstances in Mexico gave that question a more immediate consequence. Both Ferraris were in a position to win, and the fight between them gave a rival a route past one of the cars. Friday’s conversation gives Vasseur a chance to address two decisions that unfold within seconds on track. The first is how much risk Ferrari is willing to let its drivers take against each other. The second is who makes the call to return a position if one driver gains it off track and a rival has already moved between them.
Hamilton made clear on Thursday that he still saw the Mexico fight as part of a wider pattern. Asked whether Leclerc races him harder than other drivers, he agreed and brought up Sebastian Vettel and Carlos Sainz. He also pointed to Singapore, where he said Leclerc backed out of a fight with Verstappen at the first corner. Leclerc’s own account of Mexico focused on a close fight for the lead and the uncertainty over what Ferrari wanted him to do after he rejoined.
“Naturally, I was frustrated, and I’m still frustrated. And conversations need to be had,” Hamilton told reporters on Thursday, as quoted by Reuters.
What Hamilton wants Ferrari to carry into 2027
Hamilton said he had worked to build a relationship with Leclerc and still backed Vasseur to lead Ferrari into a championship fight. He linked the discussion to the work already under way on next year’s car. With Ferrari’s recent gains giving the drivers more chances to fight near the front, he wants the team to carry that performance forward and make better use of it when both cars are in contention.
There is an immediate sporting incentive, too. Hamilton arrives at Interlagos two points behind Verstappen in the fight for second in the drivers’ championship. Leclerc is fifth, 16 points behind Verstappen. Both Ferrari drivers still have positions to gain in the standings, and Mexico showed how quickly a fight between them can affect what either takes home.
Vasseur is due to speak at the FIA press conference at 14:30 local time on Friday, between the two opening practice sessions at Interlagos. The time of the private meeting has yet to be reported. Ferrari has yet to announce any changes to its racing rules.
GRANDE PRÊMIO is following every session of the São Paulo Grand Prix live from Interlagos in Formula 1.
