Vasseur Bemoans Ferrari's 'Frustrating' Mexico Collapse: 'We Were 1-2 at Turn 4'

Ferrari arrived in Mexico with its best grid position in two years and left with a familiar sense of what might have been. Lewis Hamilton's first pole of the 2026 season, backed by Charles Leclerc in third, should have been the platform for a statement win. Instead, a self-inflicted Turn 4 collision handed the race to Max Verstappen and left team principal Fred Vasseur questioning his drivers' respect for one another.

Why it matters:

Ferrari had made a genuine step forward in performance across recent rounds, and Mexico was meant to confirm it. Losing a race from a front-row lockout isn't just about one Sunday — it's about whether the team can convert its gains into results while two champions share a garage.

The details:

• Leclerc attacked Hamilton around the outside of Turn 4, edged ahead at the apex, but both cars ran wide.
• Hamilton rejoined behind Verstappen and never found a way back past the eventual race winner.
• Leclerc cut Turn 5, kept a lasting advantage, and took a five-second penalty on his way to fourth.
• It's the second intra-team flashpoint this season, after Hamilton ended up in the gravel at Monza.

Between the lines:

Vasseur flatly rejected Leclerc's suggestion that the circuit layout was partly to blame. "It can't be an excuse at all," he said. He also revealed that a five-second TV delay meant the pit wall couldn't order Leclerc to hand the place back before Turn 11, leaving it to the drivers themselves under a pre-race agreement.

What's next:

Vasseur said he hadn't yet spoken to either driver and declined to assign blame, but his message was pointed: "They are not working for themselves, they are working for a group." Hamilton has already called for "serious talks." With the championship picture tightening, how Ferrari manages this will matter as much as the car.