Ferrari tensions boil over in late calamity
Vettel and Leclerc crash out with five laps to go Verstappen wins while Hamilton is penalised
Sebastian Vettel and Charles Leclerc pointed the finger of blame at each other following their late collision on yet another miserable afternoon for Ferrari in Brazil.
Max Verstappen delivered a dominant performance to win for a second time this year, finishing ahead of Toro Rosso’s Pierre Gasly, with Lewis Hamilton taking the flag in third.
Hamilton, however, was handed a five-second penalty, dropping him to seventh and promoting Mclaren’s Carlos Sainz to third, following a penultimate-lap coming together with Alexander Albon.
Hamilton’s collision with Albon encapsulated the frenetic nature of a race effectively deemed a deadrubber after the Briton had sewn up his sixth world championship in Texas a fortnight ago.
Yet, despite Verstappen’s masterclass – the Dutchman proving again why some regard him as the best driver on the grid – and Hamilton’s banzai move on Albon, which denied the London-born Thai his first career podium, the penultimate round of the 2019 campaign might be remembered as the straw that broke the camel’s back at Ferrari.
The tension has been simmering between their two drivers – the four-time world champion Vettel and emerging talent Leclerc – since the opening round in Melbourne. Here, at one of the iconic venues on the grand prix calendar, it sensationally boiled over.
Leclerc, having started 14th following a grid penalty, was battling Vettel for fourth with five laps to go. The young Monegasque dived underneath Vettel at the Senna Esses and made the pass stick. It was a perfect move.
But on the run down to the ensuing bend, Vettel latched on to Leclerc’s tow before drawing alongside his team-mate and then subtly moving across him.
Vettel’s left-rear tyre made contact with Leclerc’s right-front, and in a flurry of sparks and broken carbon fibre, both Ferraris were out of the race. Leclerc vented his anger by wagging his right fist at Vettel, who looked to be at fault, from inside his Ferrari cockpit. Both men were then on the radio in a series of furious outbursts.
“What the hell is he doing?” said Vettel, protesting his innocence. “What the hell,” yelled Leclerc, before he delivered a number of bleeped-out expletives.
Later, the young driver, 22, said: “I left the space Seb took, and then towards the end of the straight he started to squeeze me.
“As soon as he went to the side we touched and then I had a puncture. We will put it behind us and continue to work together.”
Ferrari team principal Mattia Binotto claimed it is a luxury to have two superstar drivers, but for how much longer is their partnership tenable?
“The drivers need to feel sorry for the team because they were free to fight,” said Binotto. “I am disappointed. They know that we should avoid silly mistakes.
“When you have a crash, there are two drivers and both of them have got at least a small percentage of responsibility.”
Both drivers were then pulled from a scheduled print media briefing last night, leaving Binotto to face the music alone.
Hamilton apologised to Albon after the world champion accepted full responsibility for their crash.
Running behind Albon after he stopped for a third time under a late safety car, Hamilton attempted to pass the Red Bull driver with just two laps to run. But the Mercedes driver smashed into the side of the rookie, spinning the Red Bull man around. Hamilton limped to the flag with damage to the front of his car. Albon, 23, finished outside the points in 14th.
“I apologise to Alex,” said Hamilton, who was also hit with two penalty points on his drivers’ licence. I totally accept the blame. It was not my intention and you hardly ever see me collide with anyone.
“An opportunity arose and I was in shooting distance. I gave it a shot because in my mind I was trying to catch Max [Verstappen] for the win.
“That won’t be the last time Alex is in position for a podium. He will have many more great races so, as hard a pill as it is to swallow, I hope he can learn from the experience.”
A statement from the stewards read: “Albon was on his normal race line. Hamilton attempted to pass on the inside, but he was unable to get far enough inside to accomplish the overtake.
“By the time he realised there would not be sufficient room he was unable to back out of the situation and the collision followed.”
Albon said: “I’m not angry at Lewis. Of course I wanted the podium, but that’s it really. It’s racing.”