Well-known TV pundits, the written press, and fans on social media of Ferrari in Italy have not held back on their criticism of both drivers Sebastian Vettel and Charles Leclerc following their self-inflicted collision at the Brazilian Grand Prix on Sunday.

Former Formula One World Champion Jacques Villeneuve, speaking to Sky Sports Italy, said: “Both Ferrari drivers made a terrible mistake, it wasn’t necessary because the best they could have done was third. I think they wanted to show each other who was the best.”

Villeneuve continued: “They were free to fight but you shouldn’t abuse this freedom. I think both drivers made a mistake. Leclerc was too aggressive and when Vettel passed him he shouldn’t have closed the door like that.”

The Italian newspaper Gazzetta dello Sport stated how problematic it could be to have two drivers who want to be the lead contender when it comes to Word Championships.

They claim that the issues could be dated back to Monza where Leclerc did not help Vettel in qualifying, and continued in Russia where the latter did not let the former through in the race where he was clearly the quicker car.

The newspaper wrote: "We should have expected that sooner or later something like that could happen. The incident between Vettel and Leclerc is the direct consequence of what happened in the last 6-7 races. It started in Monza where Leclerc didn’t help Vettel in the qualifying and it continued in Russia where Vettel didn’t respect the order to let Leclerc pass.

"But blaming Ferrari is not correct, the team can set rules and orders, but if you have two alpha drivers on your team then this is what is going to happen."

An immediate comparison to this situation was when Lewis Hamilton was impressing during his debut season at McLaren, and almost went on to win the 2007 World Championship.

That year, Fernando Alonso was meant to be in the lead car and the Spaniard did not take it well when he had to take a back seat to a rookie driver. Subsequently, the rivalry became too great and Alonso moved to Ferrari the following season.

Ferrari fans on social media, meanwhile, seemed to be more visibly upset with Vettel with the hashtag #vettelout trending among many of the fans.

They see him after all as the more experienced driver who has committed a long series of mistakes in the past two seasons. He has also had previous when it comes to incidents such as this.

Back in 2010, Vettel ended up colliding with his then Red Bull teammate Mark Webber at the Turkish Grand Prix, ending both drivers hopes of winning the race.

Corriere dello Sport questioned whether or not the rivalry between the two drivers has reached its limit as Ferrari prepare for showdown talks between the two competitors over the coming week alongside team boss Mattia Binoto as they begin preparations for the 2020 campaign.

They wrote: "Has the rivalry between Leclerc and Vettel reached its maximum? The two Ferrari drivers fighting for the fourth position had a collision that eliminated both drivers. Binotto is furious."

Elsewhere, Tuttosport wrote: "Only five laps to the end, Vettel and Leclerc crashed in each other.

"This is a disaster that you could see coming and this is an accident that will lead to big discussions in Maranello. Both drivers will meet there to discuss the situation in deep detail."