Leclerc says he was squeezed, Vettel disagrees

Mark Scott
The driver dynamic at Ferrari won't improve until Sebastian Vettel leaves.

The driver dynamic at Ferrari won't improve until Sebastian Vettel leaves.

Charles Leclerc felt he was squeezed by team-mate Sebastian Vettel, who in turn said that he stayed straight in the disastrous Brazil battle for Ferrari.

Ferrari hit the self-destruct button once again after Leclerc and Vettel brushed each other in the closing stages of a bonkers Brazilian Grand Prix and resulted in a double DNF for the Scuderia.

Leclerc said he left enough space for his team-mate during the squabble but did not think that Vettel did the same for him.

“From my side, I overtook in turn one and then in turn three I had to close because I was aware Sebastian would try again,” Leclerc told Sky Sports F1.

“He did, he went around the outside, where there was little space but I did leave him some.

“Then towards the end of the straight he started to squeeze me a little bit to the inside and we were very close. Everything happened very quick.

“As soon as he went to the inside we touched and then had a puncture.”

“I haven’t seen Seb yet but I’m pretty sure we are mature enough to put that behind us. Both of us are extremely sorry for the team that this is the end result.

“For the future, we will put that behind us and continue to work together.”

Vettel also expressed his disappointment about his latest clash with Leclerc, but told Sky Sports Italy that he stayed straight throughout the tussle with his team-mate.

“I think it’s a shame for the team, we could have got a better result,” Vettel said.

“We had a big fight, I thought I was faster than him but I don’t know why we touched, it’s a shame.

Asked specifically about closing in on Leclerc, Vettel replied: “No I was going straight.”

He added to Sky Sports F1: “At that point I didn’t have much space on the right. I had a better run out of turn three and tried to pass.”