Ferrari crisis meeting: What did Vasseur, Hamilton and Leclerc agree on?

Ferrari went on high alert after the Mexican Grand Prix, at least according to Lewis Hamilton. The seven-time champion has long called for clear rules of engagement between the team’s drivers, but once again he will not get them. Frédéric Vasseur’s comments suggest that Thursday’s crisis meeting with both drivers did little to move things forward.

Something has to change at Ferrari. That was Lewis Hamilton’s message from Mexico, where the Italian team threw away victory and even a potential one-two finish. The experienced Briton urged his team to bring Leclerc into line and put an end to his selfish approach.

With Charles Leclerc and Frédéric Vasseur only arriving in Sao Paulo on Thursday, the three key figures met at their hotel that evening. According to Italian newspaper La Stampa, the meeting lasted more than an hour. The team principal reiterated to his drivers that Ferrari comes first, that they must respect the brand and its employees, and that Mexico cannot happen again. Vasseur is therefore taking a very similar approach to the one he adopted after the race at Monza. How successful that proved is now all too clear.

“Will this be enough to restore peace? We have our doubts,” wrote La Stampa. “Hamilton, spotted in the paddock this morning, did not look particularly convinced by the outcome of the meeting. After all, his demands, to be recognised as the team’s leader and, consequently, the number 1 driver, are unlikely to be heard.”

Ferrari must honour its drivers’ contracts, as Vasseur acknowledged after the race at Monza: “We chose to have two equal drivers,” he said, confirming that Ferrari shares McLaren’s philosophy. “It’s written into their contracts. Lewis has known that ever since he signed.”

How Vasseur did (not) put his foot down on Thursday

The organisers invited Frédéric Vasseur to Friday’s team principals’ press conference, giving us a chance to hear the Frenchman’s response too. Anyone expecting him suddenly to start ruling with an iron fist and dictate to his drivers how things would work at Ferrari will probably be disappointed.

“It went well. It was good to discuss, good to clarify my position and their position. It was good to do. Now we turn the page and we are focused on the next one,” Frédéric Vasseur began in distinctly lukewarm fashion, but he did not escape the journalists’ questions quite so easily.

His subsequent comments, however, made it clear that no specific rules of engagement had been agreed. “The guidelines are still the same,” the team principal confirmed. “Mainly, and firstly, they need to respect the brand, the team, the people working at home and the people working on track. I think we are putting a lot of effort into this, and the message was clear and will stay clear.”

For Vasseur, that is enough. “The conclusion of the meeting yesterday evening was clear. It was a clear reminder that Ferrari is coming first. It’s coming first for the brand, for the employees, for the tifosi and this we have to keep in mind.”

Wolff: Moments like these expose weaknesses in the system

Sitting alongside Vasseur was Mercedes boss Toto Wolff, who dealt with something similar within his own team in 2016. Losing a one-two finish at the Spanish Grand Prix angered him so much that he threatened to sack his drivers and made them sign an agreement requiring them to pay for any damage to the cars out of their own pockets.

According to Toto Wolff, battles like the one we saw at the Mexican Grand Prix help expose weaknesses in the system. It is up to the team to try to address them. “I think sometimes it needs the really tough ones, like the last one, to make a point.”

“It was always when I was there with Nico and Lewis, when there was an accident, it was understood that that was now the limit and it wouldn’t continue like this,” reflected the Vienna-born team boss. “That’s why maybe it needed to escalate to the point, because it’s a respect to the team and many, many thousand people, the brand, that work together and that’s what they need to keep in their heads.”

Vasseur: Am I supposed to tell them to leave 1.2 metres between them?

Wolff addressed the problems openly. Immediately after the race, reports emerged that he had threatened to terminate his drivers’ contracts if anything similar happened again. Wolff himself confirmed at the time that a ban on racing each other was also an option, even if it would be unpopular with fans.

Vasseur was unwilling to reveal further details of the meeting and used Wolff’s example to support his stance. “I’m not sure that Toto, 10 years ago, told you exactly the content of the discussion with Nico and Lewis and I will do exactly the same,” he said, citing Wolff, although the Mercedes boss was much more open at the time than Vasseur seems to think.

“We had a discussion. It has to stay private, it’s a matter of respect also for them and for the team. And once again the most important is the message. The message is that we are working for a brand, we are working for sponsors, we are working for, but I would say mainly also the employees of the team,” the 58-year-old Frenchman continued.

While Wolff also discussed his drivers’ relationship in 2016, Vasseur refused to explore that subject. “I’m not asking them to be best friends. I think it would be even probably a bit negative. I’m just asking them to act and to work as professionals and this is it.”

Hamilton must accept that he will not succeed in getting Ferrari to introduce clear rules of engagement as Mercedes did. “I don’t believe in these kinds of rules at all. Am I supposed to tell them to leave 1.2 metres of space when approaching a corner or something like that?” asked Vasseur.

We chose them with all their positives and negatives

Before signing Lewis Hamilton, Ferrari must have realised that having two alpha males would eventually mean dealing with situations like these. The question is whether Ferrari prepared sufficiently for them. Vasseur has no doubts that backing two very strong drivers was the right decision.

“We have two experienced guys, two competitive guys. There are now four or five races in a row that we are at the front, scoring the highest number of points after Monza and Madrid. Then, for sure, you have a kind of escalation because you all want to win races,” he said, acknowledging the rivalry between Leclerc and Hamilton.

“I think it’s probably the downside of the system is that we have two competitive guys starting each weekend next to each other. But I think if we are P2 [in the constructors’ championship] today, it’s also because we have two guys very, very close and we have to manage it. But it’s a choice, it’s a choice in the line-up and I have the positive and the negative. I will deal with the negative,” he added.