Charles Leclerc has criticised the “noise” around him and teammate Lewis Hamilton after their contentious wheel-bumping excursion at the Formula 1 Italian Grand Prix.
Before his race-ending crash in Monza, Charles Leclerc fought wheel-to-wheel against Ferrari teammate Lewis Hamilton on the opening lap of the race.
The Briton tried to get through on Leclerc at Turn 1, but he closed the door through Turn 2, a move that saw Hamilton sent into the gravel, who complained on the radio that Leclerc pushed him off.
It was an incident that was perhaps a heralding of the first real flashpoint between the two since being paired at Ferrari last season, having yet to have a real moment of contention.
Speaking to media, including Motorsport Week, in Madrid, Leclerc reviewed his side of the incident and confirmed that all is well between him and Hamilton.
“I obviously know I went too far in turn two and I said it to Lewis and I think it’s very clear what we should do or should avoid going forward. But I won’t go into much more details than of what we’ve said.
“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.”
There was “friction between other teammates”
Leclerc added that he felt that perhaps too much attention has been paid to his and Hamilton’s brush together, when other teammates – namely the two McLaren and Mercedes duos – had some “friction” over the course of the race.
“Then, of course, I mean, I know we are driving for Ferrari and if there’s one race where you don’t want that to happen is in Monza. And when these things happen at our home race, then it does a huge mess outside.
“However, I mean, looking the race from outside, there’s been also some friction between other teammates. And the only thing we end up speaking of is Lewis and I, which I don’t think is quite right. But that doesn’t mean we did everything perfect. I didn’t in Turn 2. And for that, I’ve been straight away very clear with Lewis after reviewing the images.”
When asked if he thinks the incident was blown out of proportion, Leclerc explained further that he feels the media attention was “much bigger” on Ferrari’s side than other teams.
“I need to be careful with that because surely it’s not to minimise the way that this unfolded. And as I said, it’s not acceptable to see Lewis going in the gravel.
“But for sure, the proportions, as a matter of fact, are much bigger on our side compared to the two other teams that that have had some. I mean, I didn’t follow the whole race, but the two other teams I saw that were fighting at the top, there wasn’t as much noise around it.
“So surely the proportions that it takes when you are driving for Ferrari is much bigger and particularly in Monza. But that’s not to minimise what happens. And yeah, it’s not something that should happen again.”
Leclerc cut a candid figure on Thursday in Madrid, both keen to move on from the incident, but also acknowledging the difficult week internally at Ferrari after a disastrous home race.
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