Sao Paulo (AFP) – Lewis Hamilton stated this Saturday that he and his Ferrari teammate, Charles Leclerc, overcame the tension that was created between them after the incident they had on the first lap of the Formula 1 Mexican Grand Prix.
First modification: 11/08/2026 - 00:27
Last weekend, both went off track and missed the chance to score a double. Leclerc returned ahead of Hamilton, who lost a position to winner Max Verstappen and questioned his teammate's maneuver.
However, the two drivers agreed to work together for the good of the team in the Brazilian Grand Prix on Sunday, as the Briton explained after finishing eleventh in a qualifying marked by rain in Sao Paulo.
Hamilton will start from the back of the grid due to a penalty for using two new engines.
Asked if his relationship with Leclerc had improved after the conversation they had on Thursday, the Briton clarified that it was the drivers themselves who resolved their differences.
"Fred (Vasseur, the director of Ferrari) did not clarify things. It was Charles and I. We sat down to talk, we resolved the matter and we moved on. We continue to have enormous mutual respect," he added.
His statements come in the midst of the debate on the need to establish "rules of the game" to manage the rivalry between the Scuderia drivers, a possibility that Vasseur has resisted.
Ferrari is the only team that can challenge Mercedes for the constructors' title, although the Silver Arrows will win the crown in Sao Paulo if they add three more points than their rivals.
Leclerc, who returned to Monaco after Mexico to attend the birth of his daughter, qualified fourth at Interlagos, but will start fourteenth due to a ten-position penalty for installing a new engine.
The Monegasque also confirmed that they had resolved their differences.
"When we talk, things get better right away. Of course there is some tension. We want to finish ahead of each other and sometimes we don't get things right, but it's normal that we have different points of view. Talking about it helps a lot," he explained.
© 2026 AFP
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