Hamilton Questions Vasseur’s Composure After Mexico Incident
Lewis Hamilton asserts that Ferrari team principal Fred Vasseur was “nervous” prior to the Mexico City Grand Prix, following the aftermath of his intra-team conflict with Charles Leclerc.
The British driver and his Monegasque rival engaged in a rapid and tense exchange within the initial two chicanes on the opening lap at the Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez.
Leclerc overtook George Russell from third on the grid to challenge polesitter Hamilton approaching Turns 1 and 2, with the two cars nearly making contact.
At Turns 3 and 4, the pair did indeed make contact, causing both vehicles to leave the track; Leclerc gained the lead off-track while Hamilton fell to third place behind Max Verstappen.
Leclerc received a five-second penalty for the incident, leaving Hamilton to reflect on the event both during the race and in the post-race period.
Beyond commenting on Leclerc’s mindset and requesting discussions with Ferrari regarding the incident, Hamilton voiced his opinion on Team Principal Vasseur’s apparent anxiety during the post-race press conference.
Lewis Hamilton believes he had the potential to win at the Mexico City Grand Prix.
Lewis Hamilton expresses uncertainty regarding a possible change at Ferrari.
“I mean, I’ve had way worse times at Mercedes,” he replied, when asked by Motorsport Week whether he is finding resolutions to such incidents tougher at Ferrari.
“There were some really bad moments, but no, I don’t really see there being huge differences. I think it was managed well at Mercedes, and I think Fred’s doing his best.
“I think Fred came and spoke to me before the race, and I think he was nervous. I think he just wanted us… Of course, he wants these two drivers to do well.
“Yeah, I mean, I think from my side, if I’m coming from behind and I’m taking all the risk and it ends up that we lose as a team, then I think I have some answering to do, because it impacts a lot of people.
“But the other way around, I’m in the lead, and it was just unnecessary. I think we could have easily, as I said, had that one-two today, which would have been huge for the team and for everyone back at the factory who’s worked so hard to bring us these upgrades.
“I don’t really know what will be done because up until now nothing really has been done. So, yeah, we’ll see.”
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