Ferrari team principal Fred Vasseur has admitted his deep frustration after the Scuderia missed an opportunity to secure a one-two finish at the 2026 Mexico City Grand Prix, despite making a significant step forward with the performance of the SF-26. The opening-lap battle between Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc compromised Ferrari’s ambitions, overshadowing a weekend in which the Italian team had demonstrated the potential to fight for victory.
For Fred Vasseur, the disappointment was particularly difficult to accept because Ferrari had finally rediscovered the competitiveness it had been seeking. Instead of celebrating a potential victory and a strong result for both drivers, the French manager was left reflecting on an internal confrontation that affected the team’s race and overshadowed the efforts of everyone working on the project.
Beyond Ferrari’s own difficulties, Fred Vasseur also took the opportunity to congratulate Andrea Kimi Antonelli, whose outstanding season culminated in the Formula 1 world championship.
“Huge congratulations certainly go to Kimi. I think he has had a fantastic season from start to finish. On paper, he wasn’t the favourite compared to Russell, and I think today he once again demonstrated his worth. When you’re fighting for the championship, you’re a little bit on the defensive, but he drove a fantastic race today as well. Huge congratulations to Kimi and Mercedes.”
Fred Vasseur explains Ferrari’s Mexico GP frustration and calls for respect
The main subject of the post-race press conference was inevitably the confrontation between Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc. Fred Vasseur made no attempt to hide his frustration over an incident that compromised Ferrari’s result, emphasising that his concerns extended beyond the sporting outcome and the possibility of losing a victory.
“Honestly, I’m a bit frustrated because I think we’ve made a real step forward in terms of performance. In the last few races, we were practically out of contention. I can’t remember the last overtake in Mexico, perhaps in the late 1970s. When you’re first and second at Turn 4, you don’t imagine that you won’t win the race.”
The French manager stressed that the disappointment was not limited to the two drivers or their finishing positions. It also concerned the hundreds of employees whose work had helped bring Ferrari back into contention.
“It’s a huge frustration for me, but especially for the 2,000 people working on the project. I’ll need some time to digest this situation.”
Fred Vasseur then clarified the meaning of his message to the drivers, explaining why respect for the team and its wider workforce was at the heart of his concerns. His remarks reinforced the position he had already expressed regarding the need for respect following the Ferrari teammates’ Mexico GP clash.
“You can discuss these situations for hours, but it’s not something to address before the race. Whether you’re on one side or the other, for me there is only one point: respect. That’s what respecting other people’s work means. They’re not working for themselves, but for a group, for the sponsors and for the 2,000 people in the company. When we have to push on with upgrades, there are people working day and night. We have to keep that in mind.”
Why Ferrari did not tell Charles Leclerc to return the position
Another important question concerned Ferrari’s decision not to intervene immediately and instruct Charles Leclerc to return the position after the opening-lap incident. That decision eventually contributed to the five-second penalty imposed on the Monegasque driver.
Fred Vasseur explained that the situation was not immediately clear to Ferrari’s pit wall and that communication delays made it difficult to intervene before the relevant deadline.
“It wasn’t clear. We had a discussion with race control, but you have to act before Turn 11. There’s a five-second delay between the video and reality: by the time the image arrives, you’re already at Turn 11. The regulations are clear, and in this case you have to give the position back before Turn 11.”
The Ferrari team principal also pointed out that an agreement had been reached before the race under which Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc were expected to manage situations of this kind themselves, rather than wait for instructions from the pit wall.
The incident subsequently became one of the defining controversies of Ferrari’s weekend, with Charles Leclerc later explaining his decision not to return the position to Lewis Hamilton.
Asked about Lewis Hamilton’s radio messages during the race, Fred Vasseur declined to offer his interpretation of the seven-time world champion’s comments.
“I don’t want to interpret what was said over the radio.”
Fred Vasseur explains Charles Leclerc’s pit-stop strategy and five-second penalty
The timing of Charles Leclerc’s pit stop was another aspect of Ferrari’s race strategy examined during the press conference. Although the team considered bringing the Monegasque driver into the pits earlier, Fred Vasseur explained that the five-second penalty and the gap to Max Verstappen made it difficult to gain a meaningful advantage.
“We were under five seconds. I think we would have ended up behind Max if he had done another lap. We were starting to lose a little pace, but with a five-second penalty you lose more than five seconds, because you can’t make a five-second pit stop. When you make a normal stop, you start while the car is still moving, but generally you lose more than six seconds. What you can expect in this case is a slower stop.”
The penalty therefore complicated Ferrari’s strategic options at a crucial stage of the Grand Prix. The consequences of the decision were particularly significant in the battle with Max Verstappen, with the FIA’s explanation of Charles Leclerc’s five-second Mexico GP penalty providing further context for the sanction.
Fred Vasseur insists Ferrari have made a major step forward with SF-26 performance
Despite his anger over the result, Fred Vasseur was determined to highlight the positive aspects of Ferrari’s weekend. In many ways, those improvements only made the final outcome more disappointing, because the SF-26 had shown enough competitiveness to challenge at the front.
Ferrari secured pole position and demonstrated race pace that Fred Vasseur believed was sufficient to fight for both first and second place. The performance also continued an encouraging trend after several previous Grands Prix.
“We’ve made a step forward in terms of pure performance. It’s the third or fourth consecutive race in which we’ve scored more points than our competitors. We took pole position and the pace was good enough to finish first and second.”
For the team principal, the comparison with Ferrari’s earlier struggles made the missed opportunity even harder to accept.
“It’s certainly more frustrating to find yourself in this situation than when you finish 15th and 16th. In that case, the frustration is still there, but today we know we have the potential.”
The improvements also provide an important backdrop to the developing rivalry between Ferrari’s two drivers. Their wider performance across the campaign can be explored through the Charles Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton season head-to-head statistics, which compare their results and performances throughout 2026.
Attention now turns quickly towards the Brazilian Grand Prix. Fred Vasseur sees the short interval between races as an advantage, because it will limit the time spent discussing the Mexico controversy and allow Ferrari to concentrate on its next challenge.
“The advantage is that we have another race in four days. We’ll discuss it this evening, sort things out tomorrow and then focus on the next event.”
Is Ferrari now the fastest Formula 1 team after Austin and Mexico?
Ferrari’s improved competitiveness in Austin and Mexico raised an obvious question: has the SF-26 become the benchmark car in Formula 1?
Fred Vasseur was reluctant to go that far, arguing that the competitive order remains extremely close and that the performance differences between the leading drivers and teams can vary considerably from one session to another.
“Honestly, we’re all very close. If you look at the sessions, one time it’s Charles, another time it’s Lewis, another time it’s Max, and yesterday it was Norris. That means we’re all right there.”
Rather than attributing Ferrari’s progress solely to the overall car package, the team principal highlighted the importance of circuit characteristics and engine sensitivity under the current regulations.
“It’s much more related to the circuit configuration and the sensitivity of the engine than simply the package or the concept of the car. But yes, I think we’re right there with the others. It’s positive for Formula 1 and for the championship to have a situation like this, with six, seven or eight drivers capable of winning a race in the first season of the regulations.”
His assessment suggests that Ferrari’s recent progress has brought the team firmly back into contention, without establishing a clear advantage over its closest rivals. The SF-26 has demonstrated its potential, but maximising that performance on race day remains just as important.
Fred Vasseur addresses uncertainty over the Qatar Grand Prix
At the end of the press conference, Fred Vasseur also addressed the upcoming Qatar Grand Prix, with uncertainty remaining over the event and the final decisions resting with the organisers and the relevant authorities.
The Ferrari team principal made it clear that his personal preference was to continue racing, regardless of where Formula 1 might ultimately be asked to compete.
“For the moment, it’s still on the calendar. We’re all subject to what might happen in the coming days, and I know there are several plans. I trust that the best decision will be made for all of us. Personally, I want to race. It doesn’t matter where, I want to race now. We’ll go wherever we’re told to go.”
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