Charles Leclerc has admitted “I didn’t behave the way I should have” when racing Ferrari team-mate Lewis Hamilton at the opening lap of the Italian Grand Prix.
Hamilton accused the team of having “no rules” after he was forced wide by Leclerc at the exit of the first chicane, an incident which cost him six positions, and could only recover to sixth place at Ferrari’s home event.
Ahead of this weekend’s Spanish Grand Prix in Madrid, both drivers discussed the incident with Ferrari chairman John Elkann, chief executive Benedetto Vigna and team principal Frederic Vasseur.
“What was very important was to speak first of all. It’s been quite a few years now that I’ve been in Ferrari and I know how it feels when everything on Ferrari is kind of on fire and if you don’t speak between Lewis and I, you can get caught with this noise around the team,” said Leclerc.
“It’s not that there’s no reason for that noise but the intensity of the noise is a bit too crazy. When you look at Monza, there has been friction between other team-mates and we barely talk about it but when it’s about Ferrari, it takes proportion that is not normal.
“We spoke with Lewis. We’ve always had a great relationship. I have a lot of respect for Lewis. I told him, in Turn 2, I didn’t behave the way I should have and the way a team-mate should.
“It happens when you are super motivated, Lewis is super motivated and I’m super motivated and we all try to do our best. Sometimes you go too far, which I did, and we will retune that in order for it to not happen again in the future.”
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Less than two laps later, Leclerc had a massive crash at the final corner and suffered from blurred version in the aftermath.
However, the Monegasque driver has undergone additional checks and is fit enough to race this weekend.
“I will be 100-per-cent fine. It was only right after the crash that was just a little bit strange and felt a little bit dizzy, but very quickly from Monday afternoon I felt better,” he said.
“I had quite a few treatments for the neck because that’s that’s where most of the shock went and I’m feeling good now, so I’m ready for this weekend.”
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Hamilton: Leclerc has shown maturity
The Monza clash is the most high profile incident between Hamilton and Leclerc since they became team-mates at the start of last year.
Hamilton has experienced several team-mate on-track battles including against Jenson Button, Nico Rosberg and George Russell and says he has “squashed” the incident with Leclerc “so nothing lingers”.
“I think 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 and we were just both open and honest and we squashed it and we can move on,” he said.
“I think that shows the maturity from him and I think it’s healthy. It’s a relationship we have built over time. 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. We both want to win just as much as each other and we both want to do well for the team as well.”
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Hamilton asked for rules of engagement when it comes to racing with Leclerc, like he had at Mercedes, but revealed that was not part of the discussions post-Monza.
“Right now, I’m just trying to focus on having a better weekend this weekend,” he said.
“I’m sure at some stage we’ll discuss how we can be better, but we’ve not had a lot of time to just turn around. You can’t change things in two days.”
Sky Sports F1’s Spanish GP live schedule
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Friday September 11
8.50am: F3 Practice
10am: F2 Practice
12pm: Spanish Grand Prix Practice One (session starts at 12.30pm)
12.55pm: F2 Qualifying
2.40pm: Team Bosses’ Press Conference
3.45pm: Spanish Grand Prix Practice Two (session starts at 4pm)
5.20pm: F3 Qualifying
6.20pm: The F1 Show
Saturday September 12
10am: F3 Sprint
11am: Spanish Grand Prix Practice Three (session starts at 11.30am)
1.10pm: F2 Sprint
2.15pm: Spanish Grand Prix Qualifying build-up
3pm: SPANISH GRAND PRIX QUALIFYING*
4.55pm: F3 Feature Race 1
6pm: Ted’s Qualifying Notebook
Sunday September 13
8.40am: F3 Feature Race 2
10.20am: F2 Feature Race
12.30pm: Grand Prix Sunday: Spanish GP build-up
2pm: THE SPANISH GRAND PRIX
4pm: Chequered Flag: Spanish GP reaction
5pm: Ted’s Notebook
*also on Sky Sports Main Event
Formula 1 is in Madrid for the Spanish Grand Prix at the new Madring circuit with Sunday’s race at 2pm (build-up from 12.30pm), live on Sky Sports F1. Stream Sky Sports with NOW – no contract, cancel anytime