Team Principal Fred Vasseur shared his thoughts on the contentious opening-lap battle between Ferrari F1 drivers Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc following their second- and fourth-place finishes, respectively, at the 2026 Mexico City GP on Sunday.
How Lap 1 unfolded for Hamilton and Leclerc
Hamilton secured his first pole position with Ferrari in Saturday’s qualifying. Unable to put the lap together on his final run in Q3, Leclerc, meanwhile, only managed to qualify in third, despite having the potential to grab pole.
As the lights went out at the Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez, the Monégasque got a strong launch off the line on fresh softs and passed George Russell. He then challenged his teammate for the lead, and the pair ran side-by-side through the opening turns, with Hamilton just holding the advantage.
With the Brit going defensive again into Turn 4, Leclerc swept to the outside, and the Ferrari duo went side by side into the braking zone once more.
While the 29-year-old braked too late and would’ve missed the corner, Hamilton left him no space and went beyond the white lines himself. Avoiding contact, he decided to head across the grass to take the lead.
Hamilton rejoined the track, but with a compromised exit through the right of Turn 5. Max Verstappen managing to slot into second place prevented any chance for Leclerc to give the 7-time World Champion the position back.
On Lap 12, the stewards handed Leclerc a 5-second penalty for cutting the track and gaining a lasting advantage. A 10-second penalty wasn’t applied since Hamilton had gone off the track as well.
Vasseur on whether the track layout contributed to the Lap 1 incident between Hamilton and Leclerc at the Mexico City GP
Speaking in a print media session after the F1 race, Fred Vasseur addressed the Lap 1 battle between Hamilton and Leclerc at the 2026 Mexico City GP and revealed whether he agreed with the Monégasque’s assessment that certain track layouts encourage the drivers to serve the time penalty instead of giving the position back.
Conceding that the configuration of the Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez has prompted drivers to commit such violations in the past couple of years, the Frenchman added that it’s not a reasonable excuse.
At the same time, Vasseur noted the performance gains Ferrari have made recently and emphasised how frustrating it was for the entire team not to secure the win after running in first and second at Turn 4 on the opening lap at a track where overtaking is quite difficult in the latter stages of the race.
“The layout of the track, for sure, it’s not helping. Because if you have a look, the last couple of years we had this kind of issue. But it can’t be an excuse at all.
“Honestly, I’m a bit frustrated, because I think we did a proper step forward in terms of performance in the last couple of events, and we were 1-2 at Turn 4.
“I don’t remember the last overtaking in Mexico, perhaps at the end of the 70s. And when you are 1-2 at Turn 4, you don’t imagine that you won’t win the race.
“It’s a lot of frustration for me, but I’m not the most important. I think it’s a lot of frustration for the 2,000 people working for the project, and this I will need time to digest.”
The dilemma about giving the position back
With regard to how much Verstappen’s pass on Hamilton at the exit of Turn 5 had contributed to the decision that saw Leclerc not give the position back to his teammate in Sunday’s Mexico City GP, Fred Vasseur said that it wasn’t easy to make the call since race control had insisted on the swap being completed before Turn 11.
“It was not very clear. We had discussion with the race control. But you have to act before Turn 11. Turn 11, you have five seconds delay between the video and the reality; it meant that you are already in Turn 11.”
As to Leclerc mentioning that he was waiting for feedback from the pit wall and whether there wasn’t enough time to deliberate and orchestrate a swap, the 58-year-old disclosed that it had been agreed beforehand that the drivers would take the initiative themselves and cede any positions gained off the track by a specific reference point on Lap 1.
“No, the regulation is clear that you have to give back the position in this case, before Turn 11. And we agreed before the race that they have to do it by themselves, because for an infringement in Turn 1, it’s before Turn 4. The car in Turn 4, but we didn’t see the incident on the TV [yet].”
Vasseur’s opinion on whether Hamilton and Leclerc were respectful at the 2026 Mexico City GP
Asked if there had been a pre-Mexico City GP discussion about any protocols for first-lap encounters, Vasseur confirmed that there weren’t any and that Ferrari simply expected Hamilton and Leclerc to apply common sense and be respectful.
“We don’t have to. I think we can discuss ages for this, but it’s not a matter to discuss before if you are on the right-hand side, if you are on the left-hand side. My only discussion, it’s a matter of respect.”
In terms of whether he can trust his drivers to prioritise the team over their individual objectives, Vasseur underlined the importance of working towards a common goal.
“I think this is typically what respect means. They are not working for themselves—they are working for a group, they are working for a lot of sponsors, they are working for the 2,000 people of the company. The guys, when we had to push for the upgrades, they were working night and day, and we have to keep this in mind.”
Pressed on whether he felt both drivers were responsible for the Lap 1 controversy or if Leclerc was pushing too hard, the Ferrari Team Principal elusively responded, “I didn’t discuss with them; let me discuss with them first.”
