Hamilton reveals Vasseur appeared 'nervous' before his Mexico GP clash with Leclerc
Photo: Race Pictures
Kieran is a freelance Formula 1 journalist for GPblog, covering breaking news, live race blogs and feature content across the F1 calendar. An NQJ-qualified journalist with more than a decade of experience, he has previously written for publications including MailOnline, the Manchester Evening News and the Eastern Daily Press.
Lewis Hamilton has revealed that Ferrari team principal Fred Vasseur appeared 'nervous' when speaking to him before the Mexican Grand Prix, as he gave his blunt verdict about Ferraris lack of action to manage his rivalry with Charles Leclerc.
The seven-time world champion felt Ferrari had lost a possible 1-2 in Mexico City after his battle with Leclerc on the opening lap, with both drivers running wide at Turn 4. Max Verstappen took advantage to win the race, while Lewis Hamilton finished P2 and Charles Leclerc was off the podium in P4.
Speaking during Sunday's post race press conference, Hamilton said Vasseur is 'doing his best' when asked how his talks with Ferrari compare to that of discussions he had with Toto Wolff when he battled Nico Rosberg at Mercedes.
"I mean, I had way worse times at Mercedes. There were some really bad moments," he said. "I think it was managed well at Mercedes and I think Fred's doing his best.
"Fred came and spoke to me before the race. I think he was nervous. Of course, he wants his two drivers to do well. I think from my side, if I'm coming from behind and I'm taking all the risk and it ends up that we lose as a team, then I think I'll have some answering to"
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Hamilton says 'nothing has been done' at Ferrari
Photo: Race Pictures
Hamilton insisted that Ferrari could have had a 1-2 if it was not for Leclerc's opening lap attack and suggested nothing has been done to introduce any rules of engagement within the team.
"It was just unnecessary. I think we could have easily had that 1-2 today, which would have been huge for the team and everyone back at the factory," he said. "So I don't really know what will be done because up until now, nothing really has been done, so yeah we'll see."
Hamilton previously called for rules of engagement after he and Leclerc clashed on the opening lap of the Italian Grand Prix in September. He said: "It comes down to rules of engagement. And when I was at Mercedes, we had a written rules of engagement. So we never really had it too bad. There was a moment maybe with me and Nico a couple of times, but more often than not it was good. Here, there are no rules, and I think that's something that we need to try and fix."
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