Daly says Ferrari should have set rules for Hamilton and Leclerc sooner

The first-lap fight between Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc in Mexico City opened the door for Max Verstappen to take the lead. Daly says Ferrari should have set firmer rules between its drivers much earlier.

Leclerc attacked Hamilton through Turn 4 and both drivers went off track. Verstappen got ahead of Hamilton; Leclerc then received a five-second penalty for gaining an advantage off track, leaving Verstappen in front. Verstappen went on to win for Red Bull.

At Ferrari’s home round at Monza in September, the pair had already clashed on the opening lap: Leclerc pushed Hamilton wide and into the gravel.

Asked whether Ferrari should have enforced racing rules from the start of Hamilton and Leclerc’s time together, Daly said yes. He contrasted Vasseur with Jean Todt, whom he described as more ruthless, and said he had yet to see Vasseur become the ruthless leader he believes the situation requires.

Team orders are no simple fix in Daly’s view. He says Vasseur cannot simply ask Leclerc to give way to Hamilton more often—or tell Hamilton to yield instead.

His criticism goes beyond managing the drivers. Daly believes Ferrari gained commercially from Hamilton but traded away car development when it closed the door on Carlos Sainz. He warned that Hamilton’s marketing value must not come at the expense of engineering development.