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Vasseur Furious After Ferrari’s First 2026 Pole in Mexico
123Helmets Editorial Team
Fred Vasseur’s frustration after the 2026 Mexican Grand Prix was plain: Ferrari took its first pole of the season, ran 1-2 at Turn 4, and still failed to win after a first-lap clash between Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc at Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez.
Key Takeaways
Lewis Hamilton started from pole, his first for Ferrari and the 105th of his F1 career.
Ferrari ran 1-2 at Turn 4 on the opening lap before the Hamilton-Leclerc battle.
Max Verstappen won; Hamilton finished second and Leclerc fourth after a 5-second penalty.
Fred Vasseur said the result will take time to digest.
What happened to Ferrari in Mexico?
Ferrari failed to turn its first pole position of 2026 into a victory at the Mexican Grand Prix after its two drivers fought each other for the lead on lap one. Hamilton started from pole and the team arrived at Turn 4 in first and second place.
The fight between Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc then got out of hand, handing the advantage to a rival.
How did the first-lap clash unfold?
The lead battle was decided at Turn 4, where Leclerc came out ahead after cutting across the grass. Hamilton ran wide on the exit and lost momentum, which allowed Max Verstappen to take second place.
The move was placed under investigation, and Leclerc eventually received a 5-second penalty for gaining an advantage off-track.
What was the final result for Ferrari?
Hamilton finished second behind race winner Max Verstappen, while Leclerc finished fourth after the penalty. Hamilton had started from pole after a qualifying lap that gave him his first pole for Ferrari and the 105th of his Formula 1 career.
The source does not give the gaps or the remaining positions, so the wider classification is not covered here.
What did Fred Vasseur say?
Vasseur said the result was hard to accept given where Ferrari stood at the start of the race. He stressed that the frustration extended well beyond himself, to the 2,000 people working on the project.
He said the team would need time to take it all in, and pointed to being 1-2 at Turn 4 as the reason a win had seemed within reach.
Why does the missed win hurt Ferrari?
The missed win hurts because Ferrari had shown encouraging performance gains over the previous couple of race weekends. Ferrari came into the weekend with momentum and with both cars at the front, so a victory was the realistic target.
For fans of the Scuderia, the Ferrari collection offers a way to follow the team beyond the results.
“We were 1-2 at Turn 4,”
— Fred Vasseur
“When you are 1-2 at Turn 4, you don’t imagine that you won’t win the race.”
— Fred Vasseur
“It’s a lot of frustration for me, but I’m not the most important – it’s a lot of frustration for the 2,000 people working for the project. And this I will need time to digest.”
— Fred Vasseur
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