Mercedes’ Kimi Antonelli turned System 1’s youngest world champion by ending third on the Mexico Metropolis Grand Prix.
Purple Bull’s Max Verstappen received the race, with Ferrari’s Lewis Hamilton ending second.
Hamilton was sad along with his team-mate Charles Leclerc and mentioned Ferrari “must have some severe talks behind closed doorways” after preventing between their two drivers price them victory in Mexico.
BBC F1 correspondent Andrew Benson solutions your newest questions.
McLaren has its ‘papaya’ guidelines, is it now time for Ferrari to introduce its ‘Maranello’ guidelines? – John
The battle between Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc on the opening lap in Mexico, and the fall-out from it, offered an ideal illustration of the issues that may come up when a staff has two high drivers of equal standing.
Hamilton’s level after the race was that Ferrari would have received the race – in all probability acquired a one-two – if the pair had labored collectively on that first lap.
“When your team-mate works in opposition to you and then you definately lose positions like that, it is undoubtedly powerful,” he mentioned.
Crew boss Frederic Vasseur aldo bemoaned the lack of a possible one-two, admitting he was “annoyed”.
Leclerc argued that it takes two to tango. “I could possibly be additionally sad with how a lot he pushed me off observe out of Flip One,” he mentioned, “however it’s racing. If you end up preventing for a win it’s the manner it ought to be.”
Leclerc added: “On the finish we each did a mistake going into Flip 4. It isn’t like we had contact by any means. We each went straight and that gave the chance for Max to overhaul. So I do not suppose it ought to be that a lot of a speaking level.”
Clearly there’s a downside right here. It isn’t the primary time the Ferrari drivers’ competing priorities have triggered points this yr, and Vasseur has but to discover a method to handle it successfully, and get the drivers to purchase into what he decides.
On this case, the 2 drivers are expressing two utterly completely different, however legitimate, factors of view.
Hamilton is pondering of the staff outcome – which conveniently additionally meant a win for him – Leclerc primarily about the truth that they’re allowed to race for the win.
The issue is that the staff’s outcome was compromised and a win thrown away.
Had Verstappen not handed Hamilton as a consequence of the incident, Leclerc may have given the place again by Flip 11 as was required by the principles.
However as soon as Verstappen was between them, persevering with within the lead was Leclerc’s solely lifelike possibility.
It is a actually troublesome state of affairs for Vasseur to deal with.
The staff desires to win the race as first precedence, however the identical applies to every particular person driver. Typically these two competing priorities conflict.
And if Ferrari ever get themselves a automobile that may compete for the title, it is going to solely get tougher, as a result of the stakes for each drivers are then a lot larger.
McLaren have performed higher at dealing with this, and Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri have been extra acquiescent, however even their strategy has led them into issues, as occurred quite a few instances final yr. And generally the drivers ignore it, as with the crash between the 2 drivers within the dash in Singapore.
Vasseur’s downside is that if he had requested the drivers to not race on the primary lap on Sunday, he would have been basically asking Leclerc at hand Hamilton a win. And the way do you retain an formidable driver pleased in that state of affairs?
One additionally has to ask whether or not, if the conditions had been reversed, Hamilton would settle for the identical request.
Hamilton revealed after the race that Ferrari “haven’t got guidelines of engagement, and whether or not or not that will change something from Charles’ aspect, I do not know”.
McLaren have guidelines of engagement. One is to not crash into one another. That is not what occurred right here. One other is that the staff outcome comes first. Nevertheless it’s very laborious to provide you with particular guidelines that will take care of a stay racing state of affairs resembling this.
One may argue all day in regards to the rights and wrongs and who may have performed what to engineer a greater final result.
As Hamilton mentioned: “We have simply acquired to determine. However one thing wants to vary for certain.”
