Toto Wolff gives a friendly heads-up to Ferrari about the Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc rivalry.
Toto Wolff has given Ferrari a friendly heads-up after saying he feels like he’s seen this kind of driver rivalry before — between Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc.
During the Mexico City Grand Prix, the Ferrari teammates had a clash on the very first lap, which let Max Verstappen sneak past and take the win. Since then, Hamilton and Leclerc have been trading blame in the media over their costly fight — something that right now feels very familiar to Wolff, the Mercedes team boss.
After the incident, Ferrari’s boss Fred Vasseur reportedly called an urgent team meeting on Thursday night before the Sao Paulo Grand Prix this weekend.
For Wolff, it brings back memories of when he had to manage the tension between Hamilton and Nico Rosberg at Mercedes. Those two drove together from 2013 to 2016 but struggled to work as a team while both chasing the championship—until Rosberg retired in 2016.
“Fred probably doesn’t need advice from me, but honestly, it’s like déjà vu,” Wolff said when asked what he’d suggest Ferrari do about the feud. “You’ve been asking me the same questions for years—2013, 2014, 2015, 2016. Then Nico retired, but it was the same story for four years.”
Back then, public criticism, disagreements over team orders, and the high skill level of both drivers turned Rosberg and Hamilton from friends into rivals. Wolff warns Ferrari that this kind of friction is just part of having two top drivers who both want to win—it might even get worse before it gets better.
“Putting two strong drivers together is always tough, especially with the media watching when they race at the front,” Wolff added. “I really feel for what Fred is going through right now. Sometimes, it takes some tough moments to make a point. That’s what happened with Nico and Lewis—it was understood that after a crash like that, things had to change.”
The key, Wolff says, is respect for the team, the brand, and all the people who work hard behind the scenes.
As expected, details of Ferrari’s recent meeting to smooth things over between Hamilton and Leclerc before Sao Paulo are limited. What we do know is that it was held at the team’s hotel and included Vasseur, Hamilton, and Leclerc, discussing their on- and off-track clashes in Mexico.
It’s been reported that Vasseur told the drivers to put Ferrari’s interests first, respect each other, and not risk everything by fighting too hard.
But when asked about it, Vasseur kept things private, just like Wolff did back in the day with Hamilton and Rosberg.
“I don’t think Toto ever shared the details of his talks with Nico and Lewis, and I’ll do the same,” Vasseur said. “It’s important to keep it private, out of respect for the drivers and the team. The main message is that we all work for the brand, the sponsors, but mostly for the people at the team.”
On his end, Leclerc says the matter is settled and he’s ready to focus on the upcoming race weekend.
So, let’s see how things unfold in Sao Paulo!