Leclerc and Sainz blasted by own boss for ‘losing control’ of Mexican GP

Ferrari team principal Fred Vasseur has revealed his frustration with drivers Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz after the pair failed to make the most of a front-row lockout at the Mexican GP.

Leclerc was the fastest driver in qualifying at the Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez on Saturday with Sainz also able to hold off the reigning world champion Verstappen, but the tables turned on raceday.

Sainz got a terrible launch when the lights went out which, combined with immense starts for Verstappen and his Red Bull team-mate Sergio Perez, put Leclerc under pressure at turn one.

With Verstappen on the inside and Perez launching a move around the outside Leclerc was trapped at turn one. The home hero turned in too early in his attempt to make the move stick, causing the pair to make contact. 

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The second race start – triggered by a red flag caused when a suspension failure sent Kevin Magnussen hurtling towards the barriers on lap 33 – offered few improvements for the Scuderia.

Leclerc and Sainz both started on the slower hard compound tyres and never looked like challenging on the run down to turn one. Team principal Vasseur was far from impressed with these poor race starts.

Speaking after the race the Ferrari boss said: “I’m not satisfied with the start of my drivers today. The start wasn’t good, we gave everyone the slipstream, totally losing control of the situation.

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“This put Carlos and Charles in a difficult position with both Red Bulls. Checo and Charles touched each other and we lost a piece of the front.”

With Lewis Hamilton converting a second-place finish for Mercedes, the gap between the two teams has widened slightly to 22 heading into the final three races of the season with second in the Constructor Championship still up for grabs.

Brazil has historically been a strong circuit for Mercedes with George Russell taking his maiden victory there last season, but Las Vegas and Abu Dhabi could see the pendulum swing back towards the Scuderia. 

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