Ferrari team principal Fred Vasseur has criticised Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc for showing a "lack of respect" towards the team following their clash at the Mexico City Grand Prix, which damaged the Italian outfit's hopes of securing victory.
Hamilton made a strong start from pole position, while teammate Leclerc climbed into second place on the opening lap before attempting to overtake around the outside at Turns 1 and 4. The latter battle resulted in both Ferrari drivers leaving the track, allowing Max Verstappen to move ahead of Hamilton as he rejoined. Leclerc, meanwhile, emerged in the lead but was handed a five-second time penalty for the incident.
Verstappen inherits victory
Verstappen subsequently inherited first place when Leclerc served his penalty and held on to claim victory ahead of Hamilton and Kimi Antonelli, who secured the world title.
Vasseur was left frustrated by the actions of his drivers, believing their on-track battle had ultimately cost Ferrari the opportunity to win the race. Verstappen, however, appeared to back Hamilton's position, arguing that Leclerc should have received a harsher 10-second penalty for his actions during their opening-lap encounter.
Drivers question penalty
"That's just… I don't think that should be allowed," he said. "You should give the position back to who lost it."
Hamilton also questioned Leclerc's penalty over team radio, arguing that it failed to account for the advantage of running in 'clean air' at the front of the field. "Usually it's 10 seconds, and now all of a sudden it's just five," Hamilton said. "I think that's very strange too."
Vasseur's frustration
Vasseur also weighed in on the controversial incident, making his feelings clear about how the opening-lap battle unfolded. "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."
The Frenchman also revealed that certain elements of the opening-lap battle had not been covered in pre-race discussions, but confirmed he would speak to both drivers about their actions ahead of 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," Vasseur added. "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."
