Fred Vasseur calls for "respect" after Lewis Hamilton-Charles Leclerc Mexican GP clash

Ferrari Formula 1 team principal Fred Vasseur said the first-lap clash between his drivers, Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc, at the Mexican Grand Prix comes down to “a matter of respect”.

Leclerc attempted to overtake Hamilton, who had started the race at the Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez from pole position, at Turn 4. Both drivers went off the track and Leclerc came out ahead. During the chaos, Hamilton dropped down to third behind Red Bull’s Max Verstappen.

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The Monegasque driver was handed a five-second penalty for leaving the track and gaining an advantage. Verstappen went on to win, Hamilton finished second and Mercedes’ Kimi Antonelli finished third. Leclerc crossed the line in fourth.

While speaking to Sky Sports F1 following the race, Vasseur was asked what the drivers had discussed before the race and whether those discussions had been forgotten.

“I think it’s just a matter of respect, the respect for the brand, for the sponsor, for the team, for the 2,000 people working at home like hell that I think we are coming back in terms of performance, that we did a good step forward,” the Frenchman explained.

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“With both upgrades, the people at home are working night and day. And honestly, it’s difficult to digest for me to give up a win like this. I will have time to discuss with them, but honestly, today I’m a bit down.”

Hamilton did not hold back in his comments about his team-mate after the race. The seven-time champion argued that the Maranello outfit needs to have “some serious talks behind the scenes”, and the team could have “easily had a one-two” in Mexico. Leclerc added that he felt Hamilton’s driving was “very much on the limit”.

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When asked about both drivers’ comments, Vasseur preferred to deal with that privately.

“The comments of Lewis, we discuss with Lewis, and the comments of Charles, we discuss with Charles,” he said. “What I see is the result. The result is that we had a win on the table. We were one-two in Mexico. The last overtaking in Mexico was in ’72. And when you are one-two you don’t imagine that you can lose the race, and we were able to do it.”

Ferrari currently sits second in the constructors’ standings with 504 points, 126 points behind championship leader Mercedes. Red Bull follows in third with 382 points and McLaren sits fourth with 365 points.

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