Leclerc concedes he ‘went too far’ in Hamilton Monza incident

Charles Leclerc admitted Thursday that he was to blame for the incident involving him and his Ferrari teammate Lewis Hamilton during the Italian Grand Prix. Speaking to reporters in Madrid ahead of the Spanish Grand Prix, Leclerc said they had discussed the event and resolved their differences. The collision saw Hamilton veer off course onto the gravel, losing six places, while Leclerc continued but crashed out on the following lap at the Monza Grand Prix.

Initially, Leclerc had stated that "we went too far," a claim Hamilton denied, saying there was no "we" involved. Leclerc told Spanish media, "I think it's kind of clear that we never want to see a car of the same team in the grass." After discussing the incident, Leclerc said, "After reviewing, we spoke with Lewis, 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."

Leclerc added that it was "not acceptable" to see his teammate in the gravel, but noted that more focus was placed on the incident because it happened at Ferrari's home race. Seven-time world champion Hamilton also addressed the matter, saying he discussed it with Ferrari team boss Fred Vasseur, and there was no ill will between them.

The 41-year-old said, "That's the positive of where we've got to over the past 15 months. We've got to a place where we have really great communication internally, and the same with me and Charles. I think it's great that there was no shying away from having a discussion. We sat face to face, just him and me, and we talked and we were both open and honest. We squashed it. We can move on."