Here is the thing about racing a machine at the absolute limit: sometimes the biggest enemy is the car sharing your garage. As RaceFans reports, Ferrari team principal Frederic Vasseur was left utterly devastated after his squad somehow let a guaranteed victory slip through their fingers in Mexico.
Everything started with the kind of dream scenario that makes mechanics work night and day. The pair went into the first corner side-by-side at the front of the field. But then came turn four, where both drivers went off, reshaping the entire afternoon in a heartbeat. By the end of the first lap, Charles Leclerc was leading while Lewis Hamilton had tumbled down to third place behind Max Verstappen.
And honestly, it’s difficult to digest, for me, to give up a win like this. I will have time to discuss with them, but honestly, today I’m a bit down.
That chaotic excursion off the track completely compromised Ferrari's competitive position, opening the door for Verstappen to charge through and take the win. Leclerc also collected a time penalty for going off-track during the squabble. Unsurprisingly, the post-race finger-pointing started immediately. Hamilton blamed the team's defeat squarely on Leclerc's forceful first lap attack, while Leclerc defended his choice not to give his position to Hamilton by arguing that doing so would have meant letting Verstappen past.
Vasseur made no secret of his fury over seeing his drivers throw away such a commanding start. Speaking to Sky, the boss laid bare his frustration with the intra-team chaos. “The comments of Lewis, we’ll diskut with Lewis and the comments of Charles, we will discuss with Charles,” he told Sky. “What I see is the result. The result is that we had a win on the table. We were one-two in Mexico. The last overtaking in Mexico was in ’72, perhaps. And when you are one-two, you don’t imagine that you can lose the race. And we were able to do it.”
For Vasseur, the collapse was a matter of basic obligation to the entire organization. “I think it’s just a matter of respect,” he said. “Respect for the brand, for the sponsors, for the team, for 2,000 people working like hell at home.” He pointed to the massive effort behind the scenes to push the squad forward, noting that the team is making gains in performance and delivering upgrades through relentless work. “And honestly, it’s difficult to digest, for me, to give up a win like this. I will have time to discuss with them, but honestly, today I’m a bit down.”
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