BREAKING: Charles Leclerc Warns Ferrari as Lewis Hamilton… Read more
Leclerc Warns of More Ferrari Clashes After Hamilton Incident at Chinese GP
Charles Leclerc has expressed his belief that neither he nor teammate Lewis Hamilton were to blame for their early-race collision at the Chinese Grand Prix. However, Leclerc also warned that Ferrari should brace for more on-track clashes between their drivers before the season ends.
At the start of the race, Leclerc and Hamilton, running P4 and P5 respectively, collided as they navigated through Turns 2 and 3. Leclerc clipped the back of Hamilton’s Ferrari, resulting in damage to his front wing. Ferrari estimated this cost Leclerc “20 to 30 points” of downforce, compromising his performance for the remainder of the race.
Despite the collision, Leclerc maintained a faster pace than Hamilton for much of the race, though he acknowledged that the damage hampered his overall performance. Speaking to Sky F1, Leclerc insisted that the incident was a racing accident and not the fault of either driver.
“Honestly, it’s not Lewis’s fault, at all,” Leclerc said. “I was on the inside trying to position my car for Turn 3, and Lewis didn’t know I was there. I didn’t expect him to come back and take the apex when he was on the outside. It’s a racing incident, and it won’t be the last time it happens.”
Leclerc regretted the collision, particularly since it involved both Ferraris, but emphasized that neither driver had bad intentions. “It’s unfortunate, and it cost me a lot for the rest of the race,” he said.
Leclerc also revealed that while he wanted to change the damaged front wing, Ferrari decided against it, prioritizing track position over the eight-second pit stop that would have been required. “We didn’t want to take the risk of changing the front wing and then having to overtake cars,” Leclerc explained. “We were struggling in Turn 12, which made us vulnerable to the cars behind, and overtaking was difficult. I wanted to keep track position and maximize the result.”
Despite the damage, Leclerc managed to hold onto a respectable pace, while Hamilton’s performance fell off as the race progressed. Ferrari team principal Fred Vasseur described the scenario as “difficult” to read, noting the disparity between the two drivers’ race performances.
“It was a tough day,” Vasseur admitted to Sky F1. “On one side of the garage, we had damage to the front wing but still good pace. On the other side, Lewis struggled a lot more with pace today. It’s difficult to understand and read, but we have to take the positives from Charles’s race.”
When asked if Hamilton’s loss of pace was due to tyre issues, Vasseur avoided assigning blame. “I don’t want to finger-point or blame something, but we have to do a better job and understand the situation. We all have the same tyres, but it’s always on the edge. We saw even Max [Verstappen] struggle at times, and then come back. If you’re not in the right window, it’s much harder.”
In the end, Leclerc finished P5, while Hamilton crossed the line P6. However, both Ferrari drivers were later disqualified after the post-race FIA checks. Leclerc’s Ferrari SF-25 was found to be underweight, while Hamilton’s car exceeded the maximum allowed wear on the underfloor plank.
The disqualifications capped off a frustrating day for Ferrari, who will need to regroup and prepare for potential future incidents as the championship battle heats up.
