Ferrari’s Mexico City Grand Prix fell apart on the very first lap, when Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc fought each other so hard that Max Verstappen slipped through to second — before going on to win the race. Hamilton finished second, and the seven-time champion says the team needs “some serious talks behind closed doors.” Now the question: do Ferrari need rules of engagement for their drivers?
Lewis Hamilton (Credits: BBC Sport)
BBC F1 correspondent Andrew Benson answers the fans’ question after Mexico, and his verdict is blunt: the opening-lap battle provided “a perfect illustration of the problems that can arise when a team has two top drivers of equal status.”
Ferrari Mexico GP: what went wrong on lap one
Hamilton’s argument is simple: Ferrari probably scores a one-two — and he wins — if the two drivers work together on lap one. “When your team-mate works against you and then you lose positions like that, it’s definitely tough,” he said.
Leclerc sees it differently. “It takes two to tango,” he countered, noting Hamilton also pushed him wide at Turn One. “At the end we both did a mistake going into Turn Four. It’s not like we had contact whatsoever. We both went straight and that gave the opportunity for Max to overtake.”
Team boss Frederic Vasseur admitted he was “frustrated” at losing a potential one-two — but he has yet to find a way to get both drivers to buy into the same plan.
Do Ferrari need their own “Maranello rules”?
McLaren’s “papaya rules” have largely kept Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri in line, though even they have broken down at times. Benson notes the trap for Ferrari: asking Leclerc not to race on lap one would effectively mean asking him to hand Hamilton the win — and keeping a young, hungry driver motivated while doing that is nearly impossible.
The underlying tension is real: the team’s first priority is winning the race, but each driver’s priority is winning the race themselves. If Ferrari ever produce a title-contending car again, Benson warns, it will only get harder.
The drivers’ championship is already decided — Mercedes’ Kimi Antonelli sealed the title with third in Mexico, becoming F1’s youngest world champion — but Ferrari’s civil war could decide the constructors’ standings yet.
Source: BBC Sport — read the full story there.
