Charles Leclerc does not understand where the story about an alleged rivalry with Ferrari teammate Lewis Hamilton comes from. The Monegasque and the seven-time world champion fought for position in the first lap of the Italian GP, with Hamilton ending up in the gravel trap and losing several places. The media widely covered the internal battle, but Leclerc wants to downplay the rivalry between the two.
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The Italian GP turned into a drama for both Ferrari drivers. The pushing and pulling in the first lap cost Hamilton dearly, but for Leclerc the race would turn out much worse. A lap later he lost control in the Parabolica and slid sideways into the wall. Fortunately, he was able to leave the medical center quickly, after which the media bombarded him with questions about the incident with Hamilton.
Alleged rivalry
“I really don’t know who is trying to push the story that we are fighting each other,” Leclerc responded somewhat irritated. “There was already way too much talk about it in Zandvoort.” The 28-year-old driver did admit that the fight went ‘too far’. “I think Lewis (Hamilton, ed.) tried to go as tight as possible through turn one and then turn two. It just wasn’t good enough – and certainly here you just can’t get away with that.”
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Hamilton absolutely disagreed with that interpretation. “I was ahead in turn two, at the apex I was ahead,” he responded in turn. “There was no ‘we’ involved,” he dodged all responsibility. “Look, I don’t race unfairly. I have always raced cleanly and fairly and always left space. So the team doesn’t need to worry about that. I always try to treat everyone with respect and not put the team in unnecessary danger. I stand behind that and that’s all I can say about it.”
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