Ferrari left the Mexican Grand Prix believing it had thrown away its strongest opportunity of the season. Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc started the opening lap at the front, but their battle through the early corners allowed Max Verstappen and Red Bull to take advantage and claim victory.

Ferrari team principal Fred Vasseur said the incident crossed a line because the drivers’ fight had undermined the work carried out at the team’s factory to improve the car. He said the issue was not simply about deciding who was right or wrong in the positioning through Turns 4 and 5, where Leclerc cut across the track and Hamilton ran wide.

Instead, Vasseur focused on the wider consequences for Ferrari. He described the result as a lack of respect for the team, its partners and the 2,000 people working at the factory. Ferrari, he said, had been in a position to secure a one-two finish, making the loss of victory particularly difficult to accept.

Hamilton also acknowledged that the pair had failed to operate as a team. He said decisions made inside the car affected everyone working behind the scenes and argued that Ferrari could have avoided the incident. Hamilton added that a serious discussion and some form of action would be needed to prevent a repeat.

Vasseur plans to speak with both drivers before the next race in Brazil. He said he first needed time to digest what had happened, but that the short gap before the Interlagos event would help the team resolve the matter quickly rather than allowing tensions to build.

The two drivers did not appear to have identical views on the need for a major intervention. Leclerc said they would discuss the incident, while Hamilton was uncertain about the best way forward. Hamilton noted that Ferrari currently had no formal Rules of Engagement and said something needed to change, although he was not convinced that written rules alone would solve the problem.

Leclerc believed Hamilton had also driven aggressively and said he considered the other Ferrari’s actions to be close to the limit. He suggested that Hamilton’s frustration may have been directed not only at the incident itself but also at how it was handled through Turns 4 and 5, including the penalty.

Hamilton, however, argued that Leclerc had initiated an unnecessary attack while leading. He accepted that he had braked late and run wide, helping Verstappen move through, but said the team could have comfortably secured the one-two without the fight escalating.

The seven-time champion also rejected the idea that the situation was linked to age or inexperience. He characterized Leclerc’s approach as a mentality in which winning mattered more than securing a strong result for Ferrari, and pointed to an earlier situation at Silverstone where he had chosen not to risk taking his team-mate out.

Vasseur’s planned meeting will therefore address more than the specific first-lap incident. The Mexico clash has exposed growing tension and a lack of trust between Ferrari’s drivers, with the team needing to restore cooperation before racing resumes in Brazil.

Sources: The Race.