Vettel or Leclerc should "follow Hamilton's example" - Brawn
Sebastian Vettel and Charles Leclerc should take a leaf out of Lewis Hamilton’s book and be more honest about their mistakes when they mess up, says Ross Brawn.
The Ferrari pair caused controversy in the Brazilian Grand Prix when they crashed into each other near the end of the race.
Neither of them owned up to being at fault in the incident, which was in marked contrast to Hamilton who immediately confessed to being in the wrong when he tapped Alex Albon into a spin.
Brawn, the former Ferrari technical director who is now managing director of motorsports at F1, suggests that their behaviour could be improved.
“I wouldn’t want to venture an opinion on who was most at fault for the collision, but in the cold light of day, maybe it would be good if one of them will follow Hamilton’s example and immediately admit culpability, as the champion did regarding his clash with Albon,” said Brawn, in F1’s regular post-race debrief.
“If Ferrari really wants to put an end to Mercedes’ dominance, not only does it need to provide its drivers with a more competitive car next year, it must also ensure that incidents like this one are not repeated. Formula 1 is a team sport, especially so in Maranello.”
Brawn said that it was important now that Ferrari team boss Mattia Binotto got the message through to the drivers that their chief responsibility was always to the team rather than themselves.
“After tensions flared in the races following the summer break, everything seemed to have calmed down in the Ferrari dressing room,” added Brawn.
“But now, Mattia Binotto faces the tough task of getting things back on track and indeed he said just that in his interviews after the race.
“He had to get stuck in and tell the drivers to face up to their responsibilities, which in Maranello always means putting the interests of the team ahead of those of the individual, which was not the case in Sunday’s race.”
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About this article
| Series | Formula 1 |
| Event | Brazilian GP |
| Sub-event | Race |
| Drivers | Lewis Hamilton , Charles Leclerc , Sebastian Vettel |
| Teams | Scuderia Ferrari |
| Author | Jonathan Noble |
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