Vasseur says frustration has built up between the Ferrari drivers

Ferrari team principal Fred Vasseur says frustrations built up between his two drivers over a number of incidents that required productive clear-the-air talks ahead of the Sao Paulo Grand Prix.

Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc fought over the lead on the opening lap of the last round in Mexico City, with Max Verstappen taking advantage to secure victory and leave Vasseur angry post-race. With both the Ferrari team principal and Leclerc returning to Europe before a later arrival in Brazil, Hamilton said he was still frustrated on Thursday, but Vasseur ensured discussions took place before track action resumed.

“We did it yesterday evening because I had to fly back to Europe between the two races,” said Vasseur (pictured at right, above, with Leclerc). “It went well. It was good to discuss, good to clarify my position and their position. It was good to do, and now we turn the page, and we are focused on the next one.

“The guidelines are still the same. I think they accumulated perhaps a bit of frustration because they are starting each weekend side by side, and you have a kind of accumulation of that. But at the end of the day, the guidelines are always the same: they need to respect each other. That they are two competitors with a fighting spirit, for sure, but they need to have respect for the other one.

“But mainly, and firstly, they need to respect the brand, the team, the people working at home and the people working on track. I think we are putting a lot of effort into this, and the message was clear and will stay clear.”

Vasseur says there has still been a level of respect shown between the drivers even when they’ve come close to contact, as he believes it’s a byproduct of having two strong drivers that he’s happy to have to handle.

“Unable [to race cleanly] is a bit harsh. I didn’t see a contact between the two cars, also. It’s taking on huge proportions because we were one-two, but there was no contact between the cars. It’s not always like this between two teammates.

“For sure, it’s not a good move because when you are one-two, you are expecting to stay one-two, and we didn’t. On the top, we took the penalty [with Leclerc] and this [cost] the race. But overall, we still scored the highest number of points over the weekend. I would have preferred to finish P1, for sure, but we have to take it, stay calm and take it step by step.

“For sure, we have two experienced guys, two competitive guys. There are now four or five races in a row that we are at the front, scoring the highest number of points after Monza and Madrid. Then, for sure, you have a kind of escalation because you all want to win races.

“I think it’s probably the downside of the system, that we have two competitive guys starting each weekend next to each other. But I think if we are P2 [in the constructors’ championship] today, it’s also because we have two guys who are very, very close, and we have to manage it. But it’s a choice. It’s a choice in the line-up, and I have the positive and the negative, but I will deal with the negative.”