> ## Content Index > Fetch the complete content index at: https://www.the-race.com/llms.txt > Use this file to discover other available public pages before exploring further. # What we learned about Ferrari’s key Hamilton/Leclerc meeting - URL: https://www.the-race.com/formula-1/what-we-learned-about-ferraris-hamilton-leclerc-meeting/ - Published: 2026-11-06T19:42:15.000Z - Updated: 2026-11-06T19:42:59.000Z - Description: Fred Vasseur has addressed the meeting he held with Ferrari's F1 drivers following the fallout from the Mexican Grand Prix. Here's what we've learned - Author: Jon Noble - Tags: Formula 1, #ferrari, #lewis-hamilton, #charles-leclerc, #secondary_feature_1 Ferrari boss Fred Vasseur wasted little time following his arrival into Sao Paulo on Thursday night in getting his Formula 1 drivers together for their well-publicised Mexican Grand Prix postmortem. Fresh off his own arrival from Italy, and with Charles Leclerc having also flown in from Monaco where he had returned for the birth of his first child, the pair of them got together with Lewis Hamilton at their downtown hotel. Away from the prying eyes of journalists and photographs, the three of them ran through the events of that opening lap in Mexico, were Vasseur told them his views on events and then agreed a path going forward that it is hoped will avoid a repeat clash in the future. Speaking in the team principals' press conference on Friday, Vasseur adopting his usual tone of wanting to keep things "private" when he appeared in front of the media. His tone of answering throughout was very much of keeping details close to his chest for what he now considers a closed matter. "It went well," he said about the meeting. "It was good to discuss, good to clarify my position and their position. It was good to do. Now we turn the page and we are focused on the next one." But while Vasseur was not expansive in terms of details from the meetings, there were still some clear hints about where the situation stands now after Mexico. The major one is that there has been no significant change of approach from Vasseur in terms of the capacity for both his drivers to race each other hard. Vasseur has long shied away from any desire to interfere in the on-track battles – which has sometimes been equally frustrating for one or both of his drivers. But Vasseur did state that the racing guidelines that his team operate to – even without formal rules of engagement – were unchanged. "The guidelines are still the same," said Vasseur. "I think they accumulated perhaps a bit of frustration because they are starting each weekend side by side and you have a kind of accumulation of facts. But at the end of the day, the guidelines are always the same." Vasseur repeatedly referenced that key to the guidelines being followed was not letting personal interests overtake those of the team and that this "message was clear" for both Hamilton and Leclerc. Referencing this later he said: "They are working for the team and the team has to come first. In this situation, we failed collectively because we were 1-2 and we didn't win the race in the end. It's clear that we failed and we have to react. "The conclusion of the meeting yesterday evening was clear. It was a clear reminder that Ferrari is coming first. It's coming first for the brand, for the employees, for the tifosi and this we have to keep in mind." ### Wolff’s history lessons Vasseur sat in the press conference alongside Mercedes boss Toto Wolff, who interrupted at one point to reference that what Ferrari was living through now felt like a repeat of the headaches he faced with Hamilton and Nico Rosberg during their title fight years of 2014 to 2016. Wolff suggested that difficult moments like Mexico for Ferrari were important in exposing weaknesses in the system, and, like the 2016 Spanish GP for Mercedes, often became a catalyst for allowing change to happen. He explained: "I think sometimes it needs the really tough ones, like the last one, to make a point. "It was always when I was there with Nico and Lewis, when there was an accident, it was understood that that was now the limit and it wouldn't continue like this. "That's why maybe it needed to escalate to the point, because it's a respect to the team and many, many thousand people, the brand, that work together and that's what they need to keep in their heads." But while Wolff was quite open during those years about how he was laying down the law with his drivers – which included him stating at one point that he would sack one of his drivers if they could not race each other cleanly - Vasseur’s approach is much more secretive. "I'm not sure that Toto, 10 years ago, told you exactly the content of the discussion with Nico and Lewis and I will do exactly the same," said Vasseur, who perhaps had not recalled Wolff’s openness at the time. "We had a discussion. It has to stay private, it's a matter of respect also for them and for the team. And once again the most important is the message. "The message is that we are working for a brand, we are working for sponsors, we are working for, but I would say mainly also the employees of the team." ### The ongoing relationship Vasseur did not see any cause for alarm in how the relationship of his two drivers stands, but may have offered a hint that he was not impressed with how Hamilton had spoken strongly after Mexico. Asked about any concerns in Hamilton saying he would "not be silenced" based on what was said after Mexico, Vasseur said: "No, no – but this I was clear with Lewis and I will keep it between Lewis and me." Vasseur certainly countered Hamilton’s suggestion that Leclerc races the seven-time champion harder than any other drivers on the grid – citing his opening lap move on Max Verstappen in Austin as proof of him being super aggressive with other teams. "If you have a look at what Charles did in Austin in the first section, everybody said that it was magic and the line is fine between the two," said Vasseur. However, he acknowledged that a rivalry between his drivers was to be expected and it was naïve to think the pair of them could battle like they did and be best buddies. "I'm not asking them to be best friends," said Vasseur. "I think it would be even probably a bit negative. I'm just asking them to act and to work as professionals and this is it." Despite repeated questions over a topic that Vasseur would have loved not to have cropped up in the first place, he acknowledged that there were downsides to having two top line drivers battling each other in the same team. However, he felt that it would be hard to enjoy the benefits that come from having a pairing like Hamilton and Leclerc without expecting there to be any negatives. "I think it’s probably the downside of the system is that we have two competitive guys starting each weekend next to each other," he explained. "But I think if we are P2 \[in the constructors’ championship\] today, it’s also because we have two guys very, very close and we have to manage it. "But it’s a choice, it’s a choice in the line-up and I have the positive and the negative. I will deal with the negative."