Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc said they have cleared the air after their opening-lap clash at Monza, with both Ferrari drivers insisting the disagreement should not linger.
At the Italian Grand Prix at Monza, Hamilton dived down the inside of Leclerc at Turn 1 and ended up in the gravel at Turn 2. After the race, Leclerc said they went too far, while Hamilton pushed back and said there was no “we” in it because he believed he was ahead by Turn 2.
A face-to-face conversation
On Thursday in Madrid, Hamilton said he and Leclerc spoke face-to-face about what happened. He said there was no attempt to avoid the issue and that the two teammates were open and honest in their discussion.
“What’s great is that there was no shying away from having a discussion. We sat face-to-face, just him and I and talked about it,” Hamilton said. “We were just both open and honest and we squashed it and we can move on. I think that shows the maturity from him and I think it's healthy. It's a relationship we have built over time.”
Hamilton also said the clash should be viewed as part of hard racing between teammates who are close in pace. “Of course, there’s going to be frustrations and I'm sure there'll be more times where we're close because we're very close in pace,” he said. “We both want to win just as much as each other and we both want to do well for the team as well. But yeah, I think it's a real positive.”
Leclerc says it should not happen again
Leclerc said he had already told Hamilton he went too far in Turn 2 and stressed that the relationship between the two has not changed. He said the main point was avoiding a repeat of a Ferrari car ending up in the grass.
“The only thing I can say is that it definitely did not affect the good relationship that we have and it will not affect anything going forward. And that is the most important for me, really,” Leclerc said. He also added that it was “clear that we never want to see a car of the same team in the grass.”
Leclerc noted that the reaction around the incident was bigger because both drivers race for Ferrari and because it happened in Monza. Even so, he said the episode was not something that should happen again.
For now, the message from both drivers is simple: the Monza controversy is over, the conversation has happened, and Ferrari’s teammates will keep racing without formal rules of engagement.
