Massa reveals why Ferrari cannot give Hamilton and Leclerc team orders

The Brazilian's view comes after a tense week for the Scuderia following the Mexico City Grand Prix. In that race Leclerc passed his teammate off-track and was later given a five-second penalty. Hamilton finished second and Leclerc fourth, and many in the paddock believe the fight cost Ferrari a shot at victory. Team principal Fred Vasseur has since tried to calm things down with clear-the-air talks, but Massa thinks that is not enough.

Speaking to La Gazzetta dello Sport, Massa explained that racing instinct simply takes over once the lights go out. "When the drivers are on the track, they try to give their all and keep everyone else behind them, including their teammates," he said.

The key words are "a situation like this year's". Andrea Kimi Antonelli wrapped up the 2026 title in Mexico with four rounds left, so neither Ferrari driver has a championship to protect. That leaves Hamilton and Leclerc fighting over something else: who will be Ferrari's number one going into 2027.

Massa spoke from experience. He raced alongside Michael Schumacher and Kimi Raikkonen at Ferrari, and he said the rules back then were clear. "You can only stop them by giving them team orders if you're fighting for the championship," he said. "When I was racing for Ferrari, it was simple: Kimi and I would race to Spa, free to do so, and then whoever was ahead at that point in the season had priority over the other."

In 2007, that cut-off point fell at the Belgian Grand Prix, round 14 of 17. Massa was fourth in the standings at that stage, seven points behind Raikkonen. Near the end of that season he followed team orders to help his Finnish teammate win the title. He later played the support role for Fernando Alonso as well, most famously at the 2010 German Grand Prix. Team orders were banned at the time, and Ferrari were fined €100,000 for that episode. The FIA then lifted the ban at the end of the season.

Massa's argument also ties in with GPblog's earlier look at Ferrari's team-orders history. Since 2015, the team has generally waited until only one driver could still win the title before choosing a favourite. Ferrari have had no such title fight this year, so there is nothing to base a hierarchy on.

In Brazil, both drivers will start from the back half of the grid. Ferrari gave both cars a new internal combustion engine, which brought a 10-place grid penalty each. Hamilton's engine then had a problem in FP3, and the team replaced the entire power unit. He qualified 11th but will start 20th. Leclerc was fourth fastest in a rain-hit qualifying session and drops to 14th.