Lewis Hamilton has admitted he held ‘face-to-face’ discussions with Ferrari team-mate Charles Leclerc after they clashed on the opening lap of last weekend’s Italian Grand Prix.
The pair met ahead of this weekend’s first Formula One race in Madrid to iron out the problems brought about by their coming together in Monza.
Hamilton was squeezed off the track by Leclerc, clearly the Monegasque’s error, in the second half of the first chicane in early exchanges of positions last Sunday. ‘Charles pushed me off,’ the seven-time world champion complained at the time.
Leclerc crashed out moments later at the Parabolica in an unrelated event, again his mistake, and it was a big bang. Hamilton went on to finish sixth – a combination of failure that amounted to a poor result for Ferrari on home turf.
Speaking ahead of the new home of the Spanish Grand Prix, Hamilton said: ‘What is great is that there was no shying away from having a discussion. We sat face to face, just him (Charles) and me, and talked about it and we were both honest and open and then we quashed it and moved on.
‘That shows maturity from him and it is healthy. It is a relationship we have built over time.
Lewis Hamilton (left) has held clear-the-air talks with Charles Leclerc (right) following their clash at Monza
‘Of course, there are going to be frustrations along the way. And there will be more times where we are close because we are approximate in pace and we both want to win as much as each other and do well for the team, but, yes, it is really positive.
‘It has been really positive. I spoke to Fred (Vasseur, Ferrari’s team principal) on Monday and we had clearing out discussions.
‘Naturally we are going to have different opinions, but we come together to find a way forward and that is the positive of where we have got to over the past 15 months, when we can have really great communication internally and same with me and Charles.
‘If you look at the history of the sport, this happened before, so it is no biggie.’
Hamilton spoke after the race in Italy about needing rules of engagement. Have they been agreed?
‘No,’ he said. ‘Right now I am trying to focus on having a better weekend. I am sure at some stage we will discuss how we can be better but we have not had a lot of time. You can’t change things in two days.’
Hamilton’s deficit to Mercedes’ championship leader Kimi Antonelli stands at 76 points. It is a vertical fight for the Briton. Tough, but the target is not insurmountable.
Chasing a never-achieved eighth title, Hamilton said: ‘Mathematically it is not impossible, but it is the biggest gap I have seen in a long, long time, and at this stage of the year, too (with 10 rounds remaining).
‘Mercedes are the leaders, out ahead, and doing a fantastic job and we should just focus on doing our best each weekend.
‘My job at Ferrari is a long-term process and not something that will change this weekend. There are a huge amount of moving parts, a lot of people, and a culture that has been there for a long time. Moving pieces are not so easy. It doesn’t happen overnight. But we will get there.’
