F1 Chinese Grand Prix: Ferrari team orders verdict issued following Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc battle

Photo: © IMAGO

Ferrari

Ferrari team orders verdict issued following Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc battle

Ferrari stars Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc are back in the fight for regular podiums

By Sam Cook.

Monday 16 March 2026 21:02

Ferrari F1 team principal Fred Vasseur has revealed why no team orders were placed on Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc during the Chinese Grand Prix.

Hamilton and Leclerc were in a battle for third place during both the sprint and main races last weekend.

During the grand prix, Hamilton refused to get drawn into a fight with the evidently faster Mercedes cars despite leading the race early on, saving his tyres for later in the event so that he could hold on to third position.

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Hamilton fought off a stern challenge from Leclerc in the closing stages of Sunday's race and came home to take his first grand prix podium as a Ferrari driver.

Now, his boss Vasseur has explained Ferrari's decision not to call team orders between the pair in the latter stages of the race, despite the fact that it risked a solid third and fourth place finish for the team.

"They are professional, they did very well and it's good for the team, good for F1 and I prefer to stay like this."

Going on to talk about Hamilton's first Ferrari podium, Vasseur said: "It's an important step. The first one, it's important. I'm sure that it will help us to come back.

"Now the target is Mercedes. We have to be lucid - it's a good weekend overall but we are still far away of the Mercedes, who still have four or five tenths. It's a lot.

"We are not only working on the power unit, we are working everywhere," Vasseur continued. "The power unit is a bit more difficult because until the ADUO [Additional Development and Upgrade Opportunities] it is frozen, but let's try to do the best.

"We will not find a magic bullet at five tenths, I think it's probably better to find five topics at one tenth."

F1 2026 Standings: Lewis Hamilton bounces back, Max Verstappen crumbles

Can Ferrari close the gap to Mercedes?

For the first time since Hamilton joined the team, it finally feels like Ferrari have two drivers who are capable of challenging right at the front of the grid.

Hamilton has been rejuvenated in the early weeks of the season, adopting a much more positive attitude in interviews, and putting up a fight against his team-mate to ensure both Ferrari drivers are maximising the performance of their car.

But the seven-time champion will still likely feel a tinge of regret at the fact that his old Mercedes team are now once again at the top of the sport, with George Russell and Kimi Antonelli trading race wins so far in 2026.

Ferrari will look to close the gap to the Brackley-based outfit throughout the 2026 season, and will hope that Leclerc and Hamilton can pinch the odd race victory, before mounting a real challenge for a world championship next year.

All of that can only happen if Vasseur and his team get their car development right, however, and focus on the right areas in order to give Hamilton and Leclerc a real fighting chance against the Mercedes drivers as the season progresses.

F1 Lewis Hamilton Ferrari Charles Leclerc Chinese Grand Prix Fred Vasseur