Formula 1 Spanish GP
Fred Vasseur shuts down claims Ferrari split Spanish GP strategy to separate drivers
Charles Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton came together on the opening lap of the Italian GP, but the team says it has no reason to take steps to separate them
Owen Bellwood
Published: Sep 17, 2026, 3:15 PM
Copy link
Share on Viber
Lewis Hamilton, Ferrari
Photo by: Clive Mason - Getty Images
Ferrari team boss Fred Vasseur shut down speculation that it split the strategy of its drivers Charles Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton in the Spanish Grand Prix to try and separate the two on track.
Leclerc and Hamilton’s relationship has been under the spotlight in recent weeks. In Zandvoort, there was friction over team radio as the Briton called on Ferrari to employ team orders to let him overtake the Monegasque. Then in Italy, the pair came together on the opening lap, which hampered Hamilton’s race and saw him fall back through the pack.
Read Also:
Despite the incidents, Ferrari has maintained that there are no issues between its pair and Vasseur has repeatedly rejected claims that there is a crisis brewing at the Scuderia.
However, questions flared again at last weekend's Spanish GP, where Hamilton qualified fourth and just ahead of Leclerc who lined up in fifth. For the race start, however, the pair took wildly different tyre strategies, with Hamilton starting on the softs while Leclerc lined up with the hard tyres fitted.
Vasseur was probed about this choice to split the strategy between Ferrari's drivers, but shut down any suggestion that it was done to try and keep the pair apart in the grand prix.
“Have a look. [Lando] Norris, [Oscar] Piastri did the same. [George] Russell, [Kimi] Antonelli did the same. [Max] Verstappen, [Liam] Lawson did the same,” he told reporters after the race on Sunday. “I don't think they [McLaren] were scared to have a crash between Norris and Piastri.”
In the race, Hamilton suffered a braking issue early on that meant he could never make the most of his soft tyres – ultimately retiring from the grand prix after just a handful of laps.
Charles Leclerc held out hope for a late safety car in Madrid
Photo by: Rudy Carezzevoli / Getty Images
Leclerc, meanwhile, pushed on with his hard tyres in the hope of a late safety car that would give him a cheap stop. This, he said, was the best option for the team after its lacklustre qualifying around the Madring.
"We could have done many different things, but I think the best thing for us today was what we did,” he said. “If I had to do the race again I would do exactly the same thing. Because starting on the soft at the beginning wouldn't have given me the opportunity to do anything special.
“I would have ended up in the same strategy as the guys in front of me and wouldn't have been very helpful, considering there were no overtakes. So, the hard soft was the right strategy and waiting for the safety car at the end was also the right thing to do. But, unfortunately, it never came.”
Additional reporting by Roberto Chinchero and Cihangir Perperik.
Read Also:
Formula 1Yuki Tsunoda reveals why he failed to master Red Bull’s F1 car in 2025
Formula 1How Kimi Antonelli and Mercedes made their own luck in Madrid
Formula 1Was Cadillac “faster” than Williams in Madring F1 race?
We want your opinion!
What would you like to see on Motorsport.com?
Take our 5 minute survey.
- The Motorsport.com Team
Read and post comments
Read also :
Share Or Save This Story
Copy link
Share on Viber
Previous article Lewis Hamilton denies claims he is pushing Ferrari to replace key staff
Next article Nico Rosberg proposes major F1 VSC rule change after Lando Norris Spanish GP setback
Top Comments
There are no comments at the moment. Would you like to write one?
View More & Comment
More from
Owen Bellwood
Mercedes: 2027 development “started a while ago” as F1 2026 domination continues
Formula 1
Formula 1
Spanish GP
Mercedes: 2027 development “started a while ago” as F1 2026 domination continues
Why McLaren won’t blame F1 race control for lost Spanish GP victory
Formula 1
Formula 1
Spanish GP
Why McLaren won’t blame F1 race control for lost Spanish GP victory
Kimi Antonelli like “AI agent" that's always getting better, according to Toto Wolff
Formula 1
Formula 1
Italian GP
Kimi Antonelli like “AI agent" that's always getting better, according to Toto Wolff
More from
Lewis Hamilton
Lewis Hamilton buoyed by historic first Ferrari F1 pole: "I still love what I do"
Formula 1
Formula 1
Mexican GP
7 h
Lewis Hamilton buoyed by historic first Ferrari F1 pole: "I still love what I do"
Lewis Hamilton "praying" for Ferrari power unit after Mexico FP2 failure
Formula 1
Formula 1
Mexican GP
19 h
Lewis Hamilton "praying" for Ferrari power unit after Mexico FP2 failure
More from
Ferrari
Ferrari downplays expectations for F1 Mexico GP despite blistering Friday
Formula 1
Formula 1
Mexican GP
15 h
Ferrari downplays expectations for F1 Mexico GP despite blistering Friday
Red Bull finds ‘disconnect’ in RB22 in F1 Mexico GP practice
Formula 1
Formula 1
Mexican GP
17 h
Red Bull finds ‘disconnect’ in RB22 in F1 Mexico GP practice
Latest news
Carson Kvapil gets Rodney Childers a clock and the O'Reilly Chase is wide open now
NASCAR O'Reilly
NOAP NASCAR O'Reilly
Martinsville II
42 min
Carson Kvapil gets Rodney Childers a clock and the O'Reilly Chase is wide open now
Drivers believe softer bumpers will impact NASCAR Cup race at Martinsville
NASCAR Cup
NAS NASCAR Cup
Martinsville II
46 min
Drivers believe softer bumpers will impact NASCAR Cup race at Martinsville
Hailie Deegan wins ARCA West finale as Huddleston claims another championship
ARCA
ARCA ARCA 1 h
Hailie Deegan wins ARCA West finale as Huddleston claims another championship
Liam Lawson disqualified from F1 qualifying in Mexico – here's why
Formula 1
F1 Formula 1
Mexican GP
3 h
Liam Lawson disqualified from F1 qualifying in Mexico – here's why
Feature
Discover prime content
Subscribe and access Motorsport.com with your ad-blocker.
From Formula 1 to MotoGP we report straight from the paddock because we love our sport, just like you. In order to keep delivering our expert journalism, our website uses advertising. Still, we want to give you the opportunity to enjoy an ad-free and tracker-free website and to continue using your adblocker.
You have 2 options:
- Become a subscriber.
- Disable your adblocker.
Subscribe now Already subscribed? Sign in here
Already disabled your adblocker?
Reload page
Manage Alerts
Subscribe