Former Ferrari team principal Arrivabene: Has Leclerc fallen into the Hamilton trap?

From 2014 to 2019, he led Ferrari, the world’s most famous racing team: Maurizio Arrivabene. The 69-year-old Italian watched with some surprise as Ferrari squandered victory in Mexico.

The fact is: Ferrari had the fastest car at the Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez. It is also a fact that Ferrari did not win this race.

Put simply, the Ferrari drivers clashed so badly after the start of the Mexican Grand Prix that Lewis Hamilton fell prey to Max Verstappen and dropped from pole to P3. Leclerc settled comfortably into the lead. But the Monegasque driver paid the price for this, as he received a five-second penalty for the incident involving Hamilton. In doing so, he dealt a double blow to Ferrari’s chances of victory. Max Verstappen didn’t need to be asked twice and triumphed.

In the post-race analysis programme ‘Race Anatomy’ by our Italian Sky colleagues, former Ferrari team principal Arrivabene is stunned. Arrivabene points to the internal power struggle within the team between Leclerc and Hamilton, suggesting that Leclerc had, in a sense, fallen into a trap set by Hamilton, who was trying to capitalise on this incident to stake his claim within Ferrari.

Ex-Ferrari-Teamchef Maurizio Arrivabene

Foto: XPB

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Arrivabene says: “We mustn’t forget – Leclerc is up against Hamilton, who brings a wealth of experience and shrewdness to the table. Both braked too late in the crucial moment, but Lewis had the experience to stay on the track, whilst Leclerc made a fool of himself. I’m sorry to have to say that.”

Arrivabene also speaks of “two drivers in the same garage, but we see two different camps”.

Arrivabene calls on Ferrari’s current team principal, Fred Vasseur, to take a firm line: “The team principal must be the team principal, and the driver must be the driver. Sometimes the drivers make slightly underhand comments, in the sense of trying to get the whole team, the whole organisation, on their side. That’s when the team principal has to step in by acting like the boss and saying: ‘Listen up, lads, the next time something like this happens, all hell will break loose.’ Everyone in their place: ‘You’re drivers and therefore employees of Ferrari.’ Full stop.”