Ferrari team principal Fred Vasseur believes it is still too early to impose team orders or establish a clear hierarchy between Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc, despite another difficult episode between the two team-mates at the Italian Grand Prix. Their opening-lap battle at Monza cost Ferrari valuable positions and time, once again raising questions over how the Scuderia should manage its drivers when they are fighting directly on track.
The disappointing points haul was not Ferrari’s only concern after its home Grand Prix. Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc fought through the first chicane, with Lewis Hamilton being forced towards the gravel as the two SF-26s disputed position. The incident added to the debate surrounding Ferrari’s lack of defined rules of engagement between its drivers.
Ferrari team orders questioned after Lewis Hamilton-Charles Leclerc Monza battle
The situation became even more difficult for Ferrari when Charles Leclerc later suffered a heavy accident at the Parabolica, leaving Lewis Hamilton as the team’s only remaining driver in the race. Hamilton ultimately finished with a result well below Ferrari’s expectations for its home Grand Prix.
More broadly, the opening-lap confrontation again highlighted the potential cost of not having a clear and mutually understood internal framework governing fights between Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc. When the two drivers find themselves running closely together or racing wheel-to-wheel, Ferrari risks losing positions and valuable seconds if their battle compromises either car.
Fred Vasseur returned to the subject during his post-race media session at Monza. The Ferrari team principal, who had already addressed the costly clash between Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc, admitted that the outcome of their fight through Turns 1 and 2 had not helped the team.
“I haven’t had time yet to talk about it with Lewis and Charles, but for sure, the outcome of the battle in Turns 1 and 2 was not positive for the team. Now, to understand whether or not it is the right time to give a team order, you only have to think about what happened last year at McLaren when Oscar Piastri was leading the championship at this stage of the season. If McLaren had put everything behind Oscar Piastri at the time, Max Verstappen would have become champion. Of course, at some point you have to make a decision, but I think it was too early to do that before Monza.”
Fred Vasseur wants Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc free to race
One possible solution would be for Ferrari to ask its drivers to hold position whenever Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc find themselves fighting each other, preventing both cars from losing time. Mercedes adopted a similar approach with Kimi Antonelli and George Russell during the middle phase of the Italian Grand Prix.
However, Fred Vasseur remains reluctant to freeze the order between his drivers too early in the season. While acknowledging the damage that an internal fight can cause, he stressed that a team principal would normally prefer to allow both drivers to race freely for as long as circumstances permit.
“For a team, it is never positive to lose out like that, but that’s obvious. Fundamentally, at the beginning of the season, I think every team principal in the world would like to let their drivers race. Freezing the positions when you are the team principal is not an easy choice. You do it for the team, you do it for the final results, but it is never a simple decision.”
Fred Vasseur added that his preference remains to give Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc the freedom to compete against each other rather than introduce restrictions prematurely.
“By definition, I would very much like to let them race during the weekend. Logically, though, you have to make a decision at some point, and every team is different, so we will make a decision when the time comes.”
Ferrari hierarchy decision will come when Vasseur believes the time is right
The comments leave Ferrari’s current approach unchanged: there is no immediate move to make Lewis Hamilton or Charles Leclerc the clear priority when the two drivers meet on track. Instead, Fred Vasseur intends to preserve their freedom to race until Ferrari believes the sporting situation requires a different approach.
Monza nevertheless demonstrated the risks involved. The first-chicane fight hurt Ferrari’s race almost immediately, while Charles Leclerc’s subsequent heavy crash left Lewis Hamilton alone to try to recover a result for the Scuderia.
For Fred Vasseur, the balance is therefore between protecting Ferrari’s overall result and avoiding restrictions before they become necessary. Team orders may eventually form part of that approach, but the Ferrari team principal’s position after the Italian Grand Prix is clear: he does not believe the moment to establish a firm hierarchy between Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc has arrived yet.
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