Vasseur accuses Ferrari drivers of lacking respect for the team following Mexico City fumble

Fred Vasseur has accused Charles Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton of a lack of respect for Ferrari’s staff and brand after failing to win the Mexico City Grand Prix.

Hamilton led away from pole position, with Leclerc moving into second on the opening lap and attacking around the outside of both Turn 1 and Turn 4. The second incident saw both drivers run wide off-track, with Hamilton being overtaken by Max Verstappen upon rejoining and Leclerc moving into the lead but getting a five-second time penalty.

After Verstappen took the lead when Leclerc served his penalty and went on to win from Hamilton and Kimi Antonelli, who became world champion, Vasseur was frustrated with his drivers.

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“First of all congratulations to Kimi,” Vasseur told F1 TV. “To Kimi and to Mercedes. Kimi did a fantastic season from the first race to the last one, and it’s a championship very well-deserved.

“On our side, I think it’s very difficult to digest because I think honestly we did a huge work, a huge step forward in terms of pure performance the last couple of events. Now it’s the third or fourth race in a row that we are scoring more points than the others, and today we are one-two in Mexico and I still don’t understand how we can lose this race.

“I will have a discussion with my guys, but it’s very difficult in terms of respect for us, for the team, for the job done at home by the guys. Honestly, they are pushing like hell to bring upgrades. They are working night and day, and we have to keep this in mind.”

Vasseur says the approach to specific aspects of the opening lap fight was not discussed with the drivers pre-race, but admits he will talk to the drivers to address their actions before the next race at Interlagos.

“You can’t discuss about each position in each corner and so on, but my only point is the respect. The respect that we all need to have for the brand, that we all need to have for the sponsors, and first of all for the guys working for us. We have guys putting their life into this, and to give up a win like this is difficult.

“We will discuss it and we will clear the situation and we will go to Sao Paulo to try to win this one. I am not worried about the fact that the next race is coming very soon, that is the advantage in this situation. Tonight, it will be difficult to digest, but tomorrow morning we will be fully focused on the next one.”