Charles Leclerc breaks silence as Lewis Hamilton continues criticism
Charles Leclerc considers the Lewis Hamilton spat settled
While Lewis Hamilton continued the row with Ferrari teammate Charles Leclerc at the Brazilian Grand Prix, Leclerc said that the clash has been “settled” to his mind.
Leclerc gave his first update on the matter since arriving at Interlagos, fresh off the news that he has become a father.
Charles Leclerc considers Lewis Hamilton squabble ‘settled’
Hamilton was left enraged after Leclerc attempted an overtake on him into Turn 4 on the opening lap in Mexico City. Neither Ferrari made the corner. Max Verstappen picked off Hamilton, while Leclerc’s resulting five-second penalty saw him also later fall to the Red Bull driver, who went on to win.
Accusing his teammate of working against him, Hamilton continued to push for further conversations within Ferrari as he arrived for the Brazilian Grand Prix.
He also suggested that Leclerc races him harder than other drivers, and while acknowledging the strength of the Leclerc and Ferrari relationship, spoke of wanting to elevate the team with his eyes on a title fight next year. He said everyone needs to be on the same page for this.
Ferrari team principal Fred Vasseur confirmed that the talks which Hamilton was pushing for took place on Thursday night at Interlagos. The guidelines remain the same.
Following his return to the Ferrari cockpit for FP2 at Interlagos, having sat out FP1 for Dino Beganovic’s rookie session, Leclerc got his first chance to address the fresh twists in this Hamilton spat.
He considers the matter done after Ferrari’s discussions.
“I mean, obviously, there’s been a lot of things, probably too much things in the last week,” he said.
“We’ve spoken. I think everything is settled, and I’m looking forward for the rest of the weekend.”
It is a race weekend which featured a close shave for Leclerc in FP2. The debuting Rafael Camara at Haas, the Brazilian a Ferrari junior, squeezed the Monegasque onto the painted run-off on the main straight.
For that, the stewards gave Camara a reprimand.
“I mean, it happens,” said Leclerc in reaction to the incident, “and it’s no problems.
“It was a bit of a tight one, but at the end of the day, it’s okay.”
Leclerc ended the session in P7, one position and a quarter of a second down on Hamilton.
“Then the FP2 was very tricky actually,” he continued. “If anything, one of the worst feeling I’ve had this year in the car.
“So there’s plenty to work on, and it didn’t feel quite right. But I’ve got some ideas. We’ll change the car, I think, quite significantly, and we’ll see how it goes.
“I hope we can do a step forward because even though I missed FP1, I don’t think there was much performance in that. It’s just the raw pace wasn’t great today.”
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On a lighter note, Friday marked Leclerc’s first track action since he and his wife Alexandra welcomed baby Bianca into the world.
“It’s definitely the most special thing ever,” he said of the feeling of becoming a dad. “You kind of expect it because I’ve always wanted to be a young dad, and obviously with Alex, we felt like it was the right time.
“It’s a very, very special moment, and definitely a week I’ll forever remember for all the positive reasons.
“Then of course there’s been other things going on as well, but for me this week was all about Bianca, and it’s been incredible.”
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