The on-track collision between Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc on the opening lap of the Italian Grand Prix at Monza is still a hot topic. Former F1TV presenter Will Buxton has now weighed in with a scathing assessment, labelling Leclerc's move as 'just being an a***hole'.
The incident occurred when the Ferrari duo started from the second row. Hamilton attempted a move around the outside of Leclerc into the first chicane, but Leclerc squeezed him onto the gravel, causing Hamilton to lose six positions and drop to 10th. Leclerc later crashed out on lap two. Buxton shared his thoughts on the Up to Speed podcast.
"You've got to expect the drivers to be smart when it comes to it," Buxton said. "I didn't see too much in the opening lap, like between Charles and Lewis. Charles was a bit naughty. If the guy on the outside is cutting in on the apex, and if the guy on the inside is pushing out towards the exit curb, that's not racing. That's just being an a***hole! I've never been a fan of that."
Buxton also pointed the finger at senior Ferrari figures, including team principal Fred Vasseur, for poor management. He questioned why the topic of intra-team battling wasn't discussed before the race, especially after the events at Zandvoort. "I think the admission afterwards that they hadn't discussed it before the race in the aftermath of what we saw at Zandvoort and team orders," Buxton said. "You don't discuss going into the biggest race of the year, how your drivers are going to race one another and how they're going to deal with one another if they find themselves side by side? Find that odd."
He continued: "Then that, it does pull into Lewis's gripes and Lewis's words that they're not ready to fight for a championship yet, and they need to get their head in the game and think about these kinds of things. Do they have their head in the game? Do they have the wherewithal to make the killer decision when they absolutely have to make the killer decision? To not even discuss team orders and how you're going to race each other at Monza when you've got that as very front and centre in your mind after recent races, I don't understand how that wasn't even a conversation."
The Monza incident was a huge blow for Ferrari in front of their home crowd. Leclerc's crash and Hamilton's sixth-place finish highlighted that teamwork is far from ideal. With the season still ongoing, Ferrari must address their internal communication if they hope to secure a strong position in the constructors' championship. Criticism from figures like Buxton only adds to the pressure on the Maranello-based team.
As reported by Crash.net, Buxton's comments underscore that Ferrari's driver management remains under scrutiny. Will Vasseur and his team respond? Only time will tell.
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