Wolff sees Mercedes-era echoes in Ferrari’s Hamilton–Leclerc tensions

Toto Wolff sees echoes of his Mercedes years with Lewis Hamilton and Nico Rosberg in Ferrari’s handling of the tension between Hamilton and Charles Leclerc, though the Ferrari episode was less severe.

Wolff made the comparison on Friday at the team principals’ press conference in São Paulo, where he spoke up in support of Ferrari team principal Fred Vasseur. He recalled receiving the same questions about Hamilton and Rosberg from 2013 to 2016, before Rosberg retired.

The comparison has a clear limit: both Mercedes drivers were fighting for the world title, whereas that was not the case for Ferrari’s pair. Vasseur had also pointed out that the Mexico Grand Prix opening-lap incident did not result in a collision between the Ferrari cars; it cost the team a potential one-two finish.

Wolff’s parallel was the management challenge. Strong drivers want to win, he said, and their rivalries are especially difficult to handle when they are racing at the front. He said a difficult moment can sometimes make clear that action is needed, recalling that an accident during his time with Hamilton and Rosberg at Mercedes made clear the situation could not continue as it was.

Vasseur declined to disclose what had been said in the discussion in São Paulo. After the Mexico race, he had told Hamilton and Leclerc that their personal ambitions must not come at the expense of Ferrari’s interests or the work of almost 2,000 people in Maranello.