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Charles Leclerc has rejected the suggestion that Ferrari’s driver pairing is becoming an internal rivalry after a contentious opening-lap clash with Lewis Hamilton at the Italian Grand Prix.
The Ferrari team-mates started from the second row at Monza and both made strong launches. Hamilton then drew alongside Leclerc on the approach to Variante del Rettifilo, the circuit’s opening sequence of corners. The seven-time world champion attacked the inside, but Leclerc held his line and emerged with the inside position for Turn 2.
Hamilton remained alongside the Ferrari, yet Leclerc did not leave additional room. Under the racing guidelines cited in the incident, a car overtaking around the outside must be ahead at the apex to be entitled to racing room. Hamilton consequently ran two wheels onto the gravel and lost several positions.
The incident was particularly significant against the backdrop of recent debate over cooperation between Ferrari’s drivers. That discussion followed the team’s strategy confusion at the Dutch Grand Prix, where Leclerc delayed his pitstop despite Hamilton running behind him because he considered the proposed strategy counterproductive to his own race. Related analysis can be found in what Ferrari actually meant to do when Lewis Hamilton felt like a “guinea pig”, while Ferrari’s Monza FP1 one-two had suggested a more positive start to the team’s home weekend.
Asked whether the latest clash reinforced the perception of conflict within Ferrari, Leclerc dismissed the premise.
“I don't really know who is forcing that narrative that we are one against the other,” he said. “I mean, honestly, Zandvoort, there was way too many talks already.”
Even so, Leclerc acknowledged that the Monza incident presented Ferrari in a poor light in front of the tifosi. He also ended his race in a crash on the following lap, compounding the impact of the opening-lap controversy.
“Here, it's true though that we went too far,” Leclerc admitted. “I think Lewis in Turn 1, then Turn 2, I tried to do the tightest corner possible, but that was just not enough – and doing it here is not good.”
His comments draw a clear distinction between hard racing and an established team conflict. Yet, at Ferrari’s home race, the brief confrontation carried consequences for both drivers and ensured that questions over their relationship would remain central to the Monza story.
He’s a software engineer with a deep passion for Formula 1 and motorsport. He co-founded Formula Live Pulse to make live telemetry and race insights accessible, visual, and easy to follow.