Vasseur and the firm stance on the absence of a hierarchy
Besides the particularly poor result in terms of points, the Italian Grand Prix once again raised concerns within Ferrari regarding driver management. The duel between Leclerc and Hamilton at the first chicane, with Hamilton accompanied by Leclerc into the gravel, was certainly an incident that once again highlighted the difficulty in managing the two Cavallino drivers when they are close behind each other or wheel to wheel.
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Leclerc’s bad crash at Parabolica then unfortunately left only Hamilton on track to fight for a result that, in the end, was far below expectations. The fact remains that the lack of a clear and shared strategy or internal regulation governing the battles between the two Cavallino drivers continues to lead to fratricidal fights that cause both Leclerc and Hamilton to lose positions and precious seconds.
Frederic Vasseur returned to the topic of driver management and the first lap battle at the first chicane of the Monza GP during the post-race press conference with the media present at the circuit. These are Fred’s words on the incident:
“I haven’t had time to talk to Lewis and Charles yet but surely, the result of the duel in turns 1 and 2 was not positive for the team. Now, to understand whether it is appropriate to give a team order or not, just think about what happened last year at McLaren when Piastri was leading the championship at this stage of the season. If McLaren had fully backed Piastri at the time, Max Verstappen would have become champion. Of course, at some point you have to make a decision, but I think it was too early to do so before Monza.”
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Regarding imposing on the drivers to maintain positions in case of a fight between Hamilton and Leclerc to avoid losing time to each other, as Mercedes did with Antonelli and Russell in the middle phase of the race, Vasseur has a clear opinion:
“For a team, it is never positive to lose in that way, but that is clear. Now, basically at the start of the season, I believe every team principal in the world would like to let their drivers race. Freezing positions when you are a team principal is not an easy choice. You do it for the team, you do it for the final results, but it is never a simple decision. By definition, I would very much like to let them race over the weekend. Now, logically, you have to make a decision at some point, and every team is different, so we will make a decision when the time comes.”
