The outside pressure on Vasseur stepped up a level on Sunday. A former world champion has now demanded that the Ferrari principal grip the situation between Hamilton and Leclerc rather than leave the pair to sort it out on track.

“Really Fred Vasseur, he needs to start to act,” Rosberg told Sky F1 after the race, as quoted by Sportbible. “It needs to happen otherwise it’s just going to keep going like this.”

The 2016 world champion, who spent his own difficult years at Mercedes alongside Hamilton, laid the blame at Leclerc’s door for the initial wheel-to-wheel skirmish through Turns 2 and 3, arguing the Monegasque had failed to hold his line and had already overstepped before the pair ran wide together moments later. The fix, Rosberg argued, is a managerial one that only Vasseur can impose.

Rosberg also pointed to the pattern of blame landing on Leclerc rather than Hamilton, noting pointedly that it is “always Charles’ fault” and “never Lewis’s fault” in the way the incidents are framed.

Read also: Why Mercedes is already comparing its 20-year-old champion to Valentino Rossi

Vasseur blames both drivers for ‘lack of respect’

Vasseur has already spoken, and his anger was aimed at both drivers rather than one. The Frenchman called the lost win disrespectful to the Ferrari staff who had delivered the upgrade that put Hamilton on pole in Saturday qualifying.

“I’m struggling to swallow it because, honestly, I think it’s a lack of respect,” Vasseur said, as reported by RacingNews365. “A lack of respect for the brand, a lack of respect for all the people working here and for the efforts we’re putting in.”

Vasseur did not single out Leclerc. Asked whether he was pointing the finger at the driver who collected the five-second penalty, he said he wanted to speak to both drivers and pointed out that Hamilton had also run wide. That conversation, he indicated, would happen before Ferrari fly to Interlagos.

Hamilton demands ‘serious talks’ at Ferrari

Hamilton started on pole, led into Turn 1, and lost the lead when he and Leclerc both went off at Turns 4 and 5. Leclerc emerged ahead, picked up a five-second penalty, and was passed by Hamilton after serving it. Max Verstappen won, Hamilton finished second 0.799 seconds behind, and Leclerc was fourth.

Read also: Arsenal eye £100m Premier League star Thierry Henry praised six months ago

Hamilton said after the race that Ferrari had the pace to win and that the team now has to have “serious talks behind the scenes”, adding that he and the team would “take it offline” to work out what to do.

Leclerc accepted blame for Turn 5 but pushed back on the idea that Hamilton was blameless.

“At the end we both did a mistake going into Turn 4, it’s not like we had contact whatsoever,” he said to The Race. “For Turn 5 we both made a mistake. I paid with a penalty, then you can argue whether it’s enough or not.”

Next stop São Paulo

Vasseur’s talks will have to be quick. The São Paulo Grand Prix follows next weekend at Interlagos, and Ferrari sit 126 points behind Mercedes in the Constructors’ Championship after collecting 30 in Mexico.

Read also: Why Leclerc received half the standard penalty in Mexico

Read also: Vinicius Junior faces uncomfortable Real Madrid verdict: “There is no doubt about it”