"I'm Really Angry": Ferrari Boss Furious with His Drivers

While youngster Kimi Antonelli celebrates the world championship title in Mexico, there's a tense atmosphere at Ferrari.

Once again, polesitter Lewis Hamilton and third-in-qualifying Charles Leclerc got tangled up. In lap one, both fought for the lead and went off track. Leclerc was able to hold his position, while Max Verstappen overtook Hamilton.

Vasseur: "Lack of Respect"

The risky manoeuvre likely cost Ferrari the victory in the end. Team principal Fred Vasseur was furious after the race because of it.

"I really find it hard to accept that. To be honest, I think there's a lack of respect here. A lack of respect for the brand, a lack of respect for all the people working here, and a lack of respect for the efforts we're making," he rages.

Vasseur did not want to say which of his two drivers was more to blame for the situation – Leclerc attacked Hamilton in turn four, causing both to go off track –: "No, I haven't targeted anyone, but of course I will have to talk to them."

"Not Racing for Fun Here"

The fact is that both went off track in the duel. "But they should keep in mind that we represent a brand, we represent sponsors, we have 2,000 people working behind the scenes. The drivers are not racing here for fun and for themselves, they are racing for a big team. I am really angry," he stated unequivocally.

Meanwhile, Lewis Hamilton also believes talks are needed. "I think we had the pace to win today, but it wasn't meant to be. We will discuss this internally and find out what we can improve behind the scenes. I think we definitely need to have some serious talks."

Through the incident, they basically gifted Verstappen the victory. "After that, he just had to stay ahead of us, and he did that well."

Small Decision, Big Impact

Hamilton echoed Vasseur's sentiment, saying: "I think the most important thing to remember, and perhaps that comes with age, is that every decision you make in the car affects all the people who work behind the scenes for the entire team."

After all, "it's part of the job and our contract that we work together as a team. We could have done that easily today."

Hamilton Urgently Demands a Solution

He also made it clear that the talks were not only necessary, but even indispensable. The situation would not resolve itself.

"It will continue this way as long as no measures are taken and there isn't a truly in-depth, serious conversation. This has to happen so that something like this doesn't happen again in the future," he shows his willingness to definitively clarify the matter.

This once again brings up the topic of a written regulation for handling internal team duels. "We don't have rules for how we interact with each other. Whether that would have changed anything on Charles's side, I don't know. We have to find that out. But something definitely has to change," said Hamilton.

In this respect, the Briton and teammate Leclerc agree. The Monegasque also said they would "of course talk about it."