Nov.4 (GMM) Ferrari is facing mounting criticism after Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc’s Mexico clash cost the team a likely 1-2 and exposed an increasingly difficult internal rivalry.
Jean Alesi, writing in Corriere della Sera, said both drivers appeared to be racing for “personal gain” rather than the Maranello based giant.
“All of this seemed crazy to me,” said the Ferrari legend.
“A worsening rerun of what happened in Monza and a lack of respect for those who finally gave both drivers a winning car.”
“I can understand the personal reasons that drive Leclerc and Hamilton to fight, but there must be a limit, and that limit has been exceeded.”
Former F1 driver Vitaly Petrov was even more direct about Leclerc’s role.
“There was nothing stopping Leclerc from waiting for the two Ferrari drivers to clear Verstappen and everyone else before attempting an attack,” he told Championat.
“Ultimately, Charles simply stole the victory from Hamilton.”
Christian Danner, however, believes the real failure lies with Ferrari management rather than the drivers themselves.
“You have two super-fast drivers, but you have to keep them under control,” he told motorsport-magazin.com. “This is Ferrari’s job.”
He also took aim at Hamilton’s “diva” behaviour away from the track.
“Hamilton is a diva and will always remain a diva,” said the former F1 driver. “He doesn’t make it any easier for Vasseur by always playing out internal problems through the media.”
Ralf Schumacher was particularly scathing about Hamilton’s behaviour in criticising Leclerc both on the radio and then with the media.
“My problem is with the drama that followed,” he told Sky Deutschland.
“Demanding a penalty for your teammate over the radio is unacceptable. Then to speak like Al Capone and threaten that ‘we have big, big problems’ – in my view, that’s just the dog walking its master.”
“Something urgently needs to change.”
But another former F1 driver, Jan Lammers, suggested Hamilton is thinking more strategically than Leclerc.
“At Ferrari, you can see the difference between a super-fast racing driver and a seven time world champion,” he told Ziggo Sport.
“One goes a bit more for the long term and one focuses on the short term.”