Ferrari boss orders feuding drivers Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc to make peace at crunch summit before Brazil GP

Ferrari Formula 1 team boss Fred Vasseur says it’s time to ‘turn the page’ on the rivalry between Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc following a summit meeting with the two drivers in Brazil. 

Vasseur and Leclerc both arrived late for the Sao Paulo GP, the latter having stayed as long as he could at his Monaco base after the birth of his daughter Bianca on Tuesday. 

By default that moved the crunch gathering to the more relaxed setting of a five-star hotel suite on Thursday evening rather than Vasseur’s cramped office in a busy Interlagos paddock earlier in the day. 

Both drivers had points to make about the behaviour of their team mate, not just in the context of the first lap clash in Mexico City last weekend that cost Ferrari a potential victory, but also previous on-track encounters between the pair.

Vasseur meanwhile had a clear message – his star drivers must put their individual interests behind those of the legendary team and its 2000 employees.

‘It was good to discuss, good to clarify my position and their position,’ the Frenchman said on Friday. ‘It was good to do, and now we turn the page, and we are focused on the next one.

‘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 effect. But at the end of the day, the guidelines are always the same – they need to respect each other.’

Vasseur added: ‘They are two competitors with the fighting spirit for sure, but they need to have a respect for the other one.

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

The skirmish came on the opening lap in Mexico, as Leclerc charged up the grid at Hamilton, who started on pole. They nearly collided and Leclerc received a five-second penalty for gaining an unfair advantage by cutting the corner and taking the lead from Hamilton.

The seven-time world champion went down to third as Max Verstappen, the eventual winner, capitalised on the internal red-on-red struggle.

Hamilton later passed Leclerc to secure runners-up spot. But he was still furious, saying: ’This guy is 28 years old, so it’s not an age thing. It’s a mentality thing. It’s like, “Do or die. Either I win or none of us does,” and it shouldn’t be like that.’ 

Leclerc, who finished fourth, responded: ‘I will speak to Lewis. I don’t know his point.

‘I could be also unhappy with how much he pushed me off track out of Turn One, but it is racing. When you are fighting for a win, it is the way it should be.’

On a murky Friday afternoon at Interlagos, new World Champion Kimi Antonelli topped the practice times for Mercedes, ahead of McLaren’s Lando Norris and Red Bull’s Max Verstappen. Ferrari was benchmarked as the slowest of the big four teams, with Hamilton only sixth fastest.  

However, with rain expected on Saturday and Sunday the initial pecking order could be shaken up.  

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