Frédéric Vasseur declined to say what consequences Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc could face if they clash again after confirming he had spoken with both Ferrari drivers about their opening-lap battle in Mexico City.
At Friday’s São Paulo Grand Prix press conference, the Ferrari team principal said the details would stay private. He did explain what he wanted both drivers to remember when they next raced each other: the people at the factory had put Ferrari back in a position to fight at the front.
Vasseur had spoken to the drivers separately after Mexico. Ferrari had planned to bring Hamilton and Leclerc together at Interlagos, where the question turned from what had happened on the opening lap to how the team would handle a repeat.
Vasseur answers the Wolff comparison
The reporter brought up Toto Wolff’s management of Hamilton and Nico Rosberg at Mercedes, citing the possibility of damage bills or a change to the driver pairing if their on-track disputes continued. He then asked how firmly Vasseur had dealt with his drivers and what consequences he had laid down.
“It’s easy to agree things in a meeting; it’s another when they’ve got their helmet on in the car,” Vasseur replied.
Then the Ferrari’s boss questioned how much of those conversations Wolff had ever disclosed before explaining why he would keep Ferrari’s own discussion private.
“First, I’m not sure that Toto, 10 years ago, told you exactly the content of the discussion with Nico and Lewis,” Vasseur said. “And I will do exactly the same: we had a discussion. It has to stay private. It’s a matter of respect also for them and for the team.”
Vasseur points Hamilton and Leclerc to Ferrari’s recovery
Vasseur went on to explain what he was prepared to share about the conversation. He started with the responsibilities both drivers have to Ferrari and its sponsors, then put particular emphasis on the employees behind the team’s improvement.
“Once again, the most important is the message. The message is that we are working for a brand, we are working for sponsors, we are working for, I would say, probably mainly also the employees of the team.
“We had a good recovery in terms of performance; we came back after Madrid in much better shape, and this is due to the work of the people at home. We all, as a team, have to keep this in mind: it’s not due to the win or whatever, it’s due to the work of the people and the employees of the company. That was the tone of the message.”
Mexico had shown what that recovery could deliver. Hamilton took Ferrari’s first pole of the season and his first for the team, giving it a chance to win. The two Ferraris fought through the opening corners, and Leclerc received a five-second penalty for leaving the track and gaining a lasting advantage. Hamilton finished second behind Max Verstappen.
After the race, Vasseur called the missed opportunity disrespectful to the people working for Ferrari and said he wanted to speak with both drivers. He also pointed out that Hamilton had run wide during the fight.
Hamilton returned to the Mexico incident at Interlagos
Hamilton had accused Leclerc of pushing him off track and argued that the opening-lap fight had cost Ferrari a chance to win. On Thursday at Interlagos, he said he saw a pattern in how Leclerc raced his Ferrari team-mates, citing Sebastian Vettel and Carlos Sainz. He contrasted Leclerc backing out of a fight with Verstappen in Singapore with how the two Ferraris had raced each other in Mexico.
GRANDE PRÊMIO is following every session of the São Paulo Grand Prix live from Interlagos in Formula 1.
