Leclerc on Monza skirmish with Hamilton: ‘We went too far’

Charles Leclerc has admitted that Ferrari’s latest intra-team skirmish crossed a line at Monza, conceding that he and Lewis Hamilton “went too far” in a tense opening-lap confrontation that preceded his dramatic retirement from the Italian Grand Prix.

The Ferrari pair started third and fourth, with Leclerc holding the advantage. But Hamilton immediately launched an attack into the opening chicane, forcing the two red cars into a wheel-to-wheel fight that quickly became uncomfortable.

Hamilton veered off the gravel on the exit and immediately vented his frustration over team radio, telling his engineer that “Charles pushed me off”. Leclerc, however, would soon have far bigger problems to worry about.

The Monegasque crashed heavily at the Parabolica on the following lap, bringing a premature end to his home race and leaving Ferrari with a bruising afternoon in front of the tifosi.

Ferrari's rivalry boils over

The incident inevitably revived questions about whether Ferrari’s drivers are becoming too willing to fight each other at the expense of the team.

Leclerc, however, pushed back against the suggestion that an increasingly hostile relationship exists between the pair, even while accepting that their opening-corner battle was excessive.

“I don't really know who is forcing that narrative that we are one against the other,” he said. “At Zandvoort there were way too many talks already.

“Here it's true, though, that we went too far, I think, [with] Lewis in Turn 1. Then in Turn 2 I tried to do the tightest corner possible, but that was just not enough, and doing it here is not good.”

The comments come against an increasingly awkward backdrop for Ferrari. Hamilton had already expressed his frustration following qualifying, insisting that the team needed to operate more effectively together as its championship hopes continued to fade.

That followed his explosive radio messages at Zandvoort, where he had been unhappy with Ferrari’s failure to swap positions while he was running on fresher tyres.

Hamilton subsequently apologised for those comments, but the latest incident at Monza ensured the subject of Ferrari’s internal harmony would not disappear.

Crash adds insult to injury

Leclerc’s race was soon over anyway. While defending against Oscar Piastri at the Parabolica, he lost control and suffered a heavy impact with the barriers.

The Ferrari driver was taken to the medical centre as a precaution before being released, with his immediate concern having been his vision following the accident.

“The neck was OK, it was just the vision a little bit at first, the right eye was not showing me great vision, but now it's all good, so that's the thing I was most worried of getting out of the car,” Leclerc said when he spoke to media shortly afterwards.

“Then after that, a bit of pain here and there, which is normal after a crash like this, so nothing more.”

Leclerc will now face additional checks before travelling to Madrid for next weekend’s Spanish Grand Prix, keen to ensure the crash has left no lasting consequences.

“Well, first of all, I think I'll have quite a few additional checks that we still have to do on my side probably tonight and tomorrow to make sure that I'll be fully fine for Madrid.

“It should be the case, but better be safe than sorry.”

• Read also: Italian GP red-flagged as Leclerc suffers heavy crash

Despite the spectacular timing of the crash, Leclerc rejected the idea that Piastri’s attempted move was responsible. Instead, he pointed towards a possible change in the Ferrari’s power delivery between the opening two laps – although he was unwilling to draw conclusions before examining the data.

“I wouldn't say that this is the issue. I think from lap one to lap two I had a bit of a difference in power delivery;” he said.

“We'll look into it, but I don't want to comment too much before checking the data and confirming it 100%.”

For Ferrari, the controversy therefore leaves two uncomfortable questions hanging over its Monza disappointment: how far should Leclerc and Hamilton be allowed to race each other, and why did a promising Ferrari suddenly become a pair of damaged cars before the race had properly begun?

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