Although Ferrari Formula 1 team principal Frederic Vasseur spoke with Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc on Thursday evening in Sao Paulo to clear the air, a great deal had already been said and written about the collision in Mexico.
Asked for his view in Brazil, the Red Bull driver said he sees the incident primarily as a consequence of Ferrari’s driver lineup. With two captains on one ship, such things are bound to happen, the Dutchman told Viaplay.
“If you simply had one clear number one and one clear number two, they would have gone through that corner in first and second, and they would have finished first and second as well. Or maybe first and third, but that’s fine too. As a team, you’re still scoring good points,” Verstappen said.
According to Leclerc, the incident in Mexico was largely related to the layout of Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez, but Verstappen views it primarily as confirmation of a philosophy he has held for some time—including when thinking from a team principal’s perspective.
“I’ve said it before,” he continued. “People very often disagree with me, but if I were a team principal—if I had my own team—I would never sign two number-one drivers, because then you get this.
“Then this is normal. One isn’t going to give way to the other, because of course they both think they can win, and that’s how I am too.
“So if I were a team principal, I would never go for two number-one drivers. Some people completely disagree with that, but that’s fine as well.”
Charles Leclerc, Ferrari, Lewis Hamilton, Ferrari
Photo by: Yuri Cortez / AFP via Getty Images
Asked whether he specifically factors this into his own career decisions in Formula 1—such as choosing a team or signing a new contract—the four-time world champion continued: “Sometimes you might not have a choice in that either, but [having two lead drivers] does make everything more complicated.”
Verstappen believes a competitive car is all he needs to get the job done. The Dutchman recently made that clear again by referencing the 2023 Formula 1 season, in which his points total alone would have been enough to win the constructors’ championship.
“If you have a good car, then you don’t necessarily need that either, two number-one drivers. Just a decent number two,” he added. “Throughout Formula 1 history, it’s also always been clear that something like that works perfectly well, even for years.”
With those final words, Verstappen was not just referring to his own career, but also to Hamilton, who faced little resistance from Valtteri Bottas during most of his title-winning years at Mercedes, and Michael Schumacher with Rubens Barrichello alongside him at Ferrari.