Lewis Hamilton sat “face-to-face” with Charles Leclerc to ‘squash’ any pending animosity after their Formula 1 Italian Grand Prix squabble.
The Maranello-based team had a less-than-ideal home race at Monza last weekend.
The team came into the race weekend celebrating 30 years since Michael Schumacher first donned the iconic Ferrari red.
That said, the celebrations were cut short when Leclerc crashed out of the race on the opening lap, in an almost carbon copy of his 2020 shunt at the Temple of Speed.
But before his massive 60G shunt, the Monegasque was tangled up in an incident with his team-mate Hamilton coming out of the first chicane.
Leclerc firmly shut the door on the Briton, who was making a move around the outside of him at the Variante del Rettifilo. This sent the seven-time F1 World Champion onto the gravel and tumbling down the order from a second-row start at lights out.
After the race, though Hamilton was able to salvage a P6 finish at the chequered flag, the Ferrari driver was seemingly miffed with Leclerc.
But a week of reflection may have patched up the rough edges their relationship endured after the Italian GP.
Speaking to media including Motorsport Week on Thursday ahead of the Spanish GP at the brand-new Madring circuit, Hamilton revealed that he had sat “face-to-face” with the Monegasque and “squashed” the issue out.
“I think what’s great is that there was no shying away from having a discussion,” he said.
“We sat face-to-face, just him and I, and talked about it. We were just both open and honest, and we squashed it. We can move on.”
Lewis Hamilton praises Charles Leclerc “maturity” after “positive” F1 Italian GP debrief
Hamilton strongly believed he was ahead of Leclerc at the apex when they made contact and therefore had the right of way.
Immediately after the incident, however, it seemed that the duo did not see eye-to-eye on how the move had panned out.
But Leclerc admitted to media including Motorsport Week, at the Madring circuit on Thursday that he had gone “too far” in the moment, trying to defend from Hamilton.
Hamilton appreciated his candour, crediting the Monegasque’s “maturity” for the “healthy” relationship they have shared so far within the team.
“I think that one shows the maturity from him,” Hamilton added. “I think it’s healthy. It’s a relationship we have built over time.
“Of course, there’s going to be frustrations, and there will be times where we’re kind of… I’m sure there will be more times we are 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. But yeah, I think it’s real positive.”
When Motorsport Week asked whether he had moved past the incident, Hamilton replied in the affirmative, adding, “I think if you just look at the history of the sport, this happened before, so it’s no biggie.”
The duo of Leclerc and Hamilton find themselves at a slight advantage heading into FP1 at the Madring, given they are the only team to have driven the 2026 cars on track here with a filming session earlier in the season.
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