Charles Leclerc takes full blame for clash with Lewis Hamilton at Chinese GP

Charles Leclerc didn't hesitate to take blame for his Lap 1 collision with Lewis Hamilton at the Chinese GP.

Charles Leclerc takes full blame for clash with Lewis Hamilton at Chinese GP

Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc (via Ferrari)

Ferrari suffered from a rollercoaster of a weekend in China after a mediocre outing in the main race on Sunday. Lewis Hamilton looked strong from the get-go and secured a coveted sprint race win ahead over the weekend. However, the race pace was seemingly disappointing for the team as the two drivers couldn’t contend for the race win. Moreover, Charles Leclerc collided with Hamilton heading into Turn 1 which caused damage to the former’s front-wing. Now, the Monegasque has taken accountability for the incident.

Lewis Hamilton couldn’t achieve the pole position for the Chinese GP despite securing the Sprint race win. The 40-year-old reckoned that the minor changes to the challenger caused his sudden downfall in performance. Even Charles Leclerc couldn’t achieve the front-row start as he qualified right behind Hamilton in P6. Moreover, the main race turned out to be difficult as Leclerc collided with the back of his British counterpart’s challenger from the very beginning.

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Leclerc had to run the race with a damaged front wing until his first pit stop. This caused him trouble in moving up the pecking order and ultimately contending for the race win. The Monegasque still took the blame for the collision and reckoned that Hamilton wasn’t to blame at all. The 27-year-old tried to head into the Turn 1 with a risky strategy which didn’t pay off well as he had to cede damage to his car.

Leclerc pointed out that the incident wasn’t Hamilton’s fault at all. The 27-year-old revealed that he tried to position the car well for the upcoming turns of the Shanghai International circuit. This caused the Briton to not see his teammate in the mirrors, ultimately causing the collision. The Monegasque finally labeled the collision as a ‘racing incident’ in which neither of the drivers were really at fault.

Honestly it’s not Lewis fault at all. I tried to position the car for turn 3, and Lewis did not see me. It’s a racing incident.

Charles Leclerc told in a post-race interview

Charles Leclerc reassures positive relationship with Lewis Hamilton

Charles Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton are two highly sought-after drivers capable of delivering great results for the team. The two are also tough drivers who like to compete with one another on track. Such crashes are common between teammates as the two did not take offense to the incident and caused a problem in their relationship. Leclerc reassured that his relationship with the 40-year-old remained strong despite on-track antics between the two.

Lewis Hamilton, Fred Vasseur and Charles Leclerc (via IMAGO)
Lewis Hamilton, Fred Vasseur and Charles Leclerc (via IMAGO)

Leclerc noted that his relationship with Hamilton was going really well. The 27-year-old iterated that their good relationship was likely to remain the way it is. The Monegasque pointed out that he shared a lot of respect for his British counterpart despite the on-track issues. Moreover, he was confident that even the Briton shared a similar sense of respect for him. Now, Charles Leclerc hopes for more such battles in the coming races and having no troubles in their relationship.

We have a good relationship and it will stay that way. Obviously I have a lot of respect for him, with everything he has achieved and I feel that he also has a lot of respect for me. It’s great, we are already quite close in pace, he’s super super strong and he’s getting on with the team super quickly. I’m sure we’ll have many more fights but we’ll be fine.

Charles Leclerc noted

Lewis Hamilton unfazed by colliding with Charles Leclerc on Lap 1

Neither of the drivers suffered from massive damage to their chassis which sabotaged their entire races. Both of them continued driving as intended and tried their best to move up the pecking order. Speaking upon the Lap 1 collision with Charles Leclerc, Lewis Hamilton was not too concerned. The 40-year-old asserted that he just felt a minor hit and did not figure out if there was any damage to his car.

Lewis Hamilton (via AP)
Lewis Hamilton (via AP)

Hamilton insisted that he focused on his performances despite colliding with Leclerc heading into Turn 1. Subsequently, the Briton put forth his opinions on the issues faced during the race which rendered him unable to fight for the race win. The 40-year-old reckoned that there were some problems through the Sprint race that the team needed to improve immediately. Additionally, the seven-time champion speculated that the minor changes to the chassis made the car even worse during the main race.

I just focused on doing my job the best I could. You’ve got to continue to move forwards. We had some problems through the Sprint Race that we needed to try and see if we could improve so we made a couple of changes but they were clearly the wrong ones and the car was worse in qualifying, and then even worse in the race.

Lewis Hamilton said in a post-race interview

Ferrari still has to find massive improvement in their chassis in order to contend with the McLarens at the forefront. Hamilton and Leclerc have tried their best to deliver results in an inconsistent challenger in the SF-25. Regardless, the team remains confident of their chances of contending for both the championships down the season. Time will tell about how the Briton’s championship ambitions with the Italian constructor pan out.