Hamilton calls for change after Ferrari drivers’ Mexico clash

Ferrari team principal Frédéric Vasseur faces renewed questions over how to manage Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc after the pair’s opening-lap battle at the Mexico City Grand Prix helped Max Verstappen take the lead and go on to win.

Hamilton said Ferrari needed “some serious talks behind closed doors” and argued the team could have taken a one-two if the drivers had worked together. Leclerc said the pair were allowed to race, and that both went straight at Turn Four without making contact, giving Verstappen the chance to pass.

The clash has revived the question of whether Ferrari should set clearer rules for its drivers. Hamilton said the team did not have “rules of engagement” and added: “We’ve just got to figure it out. But something needs to change for sure.”

Vasseur acknowledged he was frustrated. But, as BBC F1 correspondent Andrew Benson notes, asking Leclerc not to race Hamilton on the opening lap could effectively have meant asking him to hand his team-mate the win. The team’s aim of securing the best result can conflict with each driver’s ambition to win.

McLaren has rules intended to manage the relationship between its drivers, including a priority for the team result. Benson argues that specific instructions are difficult to devise for fast-changing situations on track; the drivers’ competing interests can still create problems even when a team has agreed guidelines.

The Ferrari dispute is not the first time this season that the drivers’ priorities have clashed. With both allowed to fight for victories, Vasseur must find a way to manage those battles without undermining the team’s results or asking one driver to give up a chance to win.