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Ferrari had the pace and performance to win the Mexico City Grand Prix, with Lewis Hamilton even believing a 1-2 finish was on the cards. Instead, victory went to Max Verstappen, who capitalized on a costly first-lap clash between Hamilton and Charles Leclerc.
"We could have easily taken a 1-2, but what happened in the first couple of corners ruined that," Hamilton explained after the race. "After that, we virtually handed the win to Max, who simply had to stay ahead on track."
Leclerc offered a slightly different perspective on the chaotic start, admitting his penalty was "somewhat deserved." Both Ferrari drivers ran off track at Turn 4 off the line, and Charles wasn't entirely sure what Hamilton expected of him. With Verstappen already past Hamilton, Leclerc felt defending track position was worth the gamble.
"I don't know if Lewis wanted me to back off into third, but with Max already in second, I thought it made sense to hold position and see how things unfolded," Leclerc explained. "Equally, I could feel aggrieved by how far Lewis pushed me wide into Turn 1, but I suppose that's just part of hard racing for position."
The flashpoint in Mexico highlighted what Hamilton described as "deep-rooted issues" within Ferrari. The team appears unable to manage its two drivers, who clearly hold differing views on the rules of engagement when battling wheel-to-wheel.
Ferrari team principal Frédéric Vasseur was visibly frustrated as well, though he initially stopped short of assigning individual blame for the debacle in Mexico.
"I think it shows a lack of respect for the brand, for everyone working in Maranello, and for the immense effort being put in," Vasseur stated. "We took a step forward in pure performance, and it's hard to accept that we threw away a potential victory like that."
"When you start first and third in Mexico, where overtaking has been non-existent for 72 years, you don't expect to cross the line second and fourth."
Ferrari management views the incident as more than just a routine racing collision. The Scuderia has made enough progress to contend for race wins, yet unforced errors and infighting between their drivers continue to cost them dearly.
Hamilton's post-race reaction was telling. The Briton stopped just short of explicitly accusing Leclerc of prioritizing personal ambitions over the team's objectives. Furthermore, Hamilton has been pushing since Monza for Ferrari to establish strict written rules of engagement for intra-team battles.
During the post-race press conference, Hamilton delivered his sharpest critique yet of Ferrari's operational handling, highlighting the scale of the challenge confronting Vasseur.
"I honestly don't know what will be done, because nothing concrete has been done so far," Hamilton remarked regarding Ferrari's driver management.
The British driver clarified that Vasseur is doing everything in his power to help both drivers succeed. Hamilton drew parallels to his fierce rivalry with Nico Rosberg at Mercedes years ago, where Toto Wolff and the team managed to navigate intense intra-team friction successfully.
In Formula 1, serious trouble begins when a driver openly questions their teammate's decisions, team leadership, and the pit wall's ability to enforce team orders. From that point on, it is usually a downward spiral.
Leclerc indicated he plans to speak with Hamilton—a sensible move, though unlikely to solve the underlying rift given that similar talks have yielded little progress in the past. Vasseur also made it clear he intends to sit down with both drivers, much as he did after Monza. All of this sets the stage for an explosive weekend in São Paulo.
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