Charles Leclerc Says Hamilton Was ‘on the Limit’ Too After Their Mexico GP Clash

Charles Leclerc says Ferrari teammate Lewis Hamilton was also on the limit in their F1 Mexico GP fight, and was maybe more angry about how the penalty was handled than about the move that cost him the lead.It was almost a dream start for Ferrari until it wasn’t. Hamilton held on to the lead into Turn 1 at the F1 Mexico GP, but teammate Leclerc attacked twice. The Monegasque tried first at Turn 2 on the inside.But it didn’t work. Leclerc tried again at Turn 4, took the outside line, and succeeded. However, he went off track to take the lead of the F1 Mexico GP. Hamilton didn’t make the corner either and had to go off, allowing Red Bull’s Max Verstappen through.Hamilton Unhappy With LeclercNaturally, Hamilton was livid on the radio. Leclerc kept the lead and was eventually handed a 5-second time penalty. The stewards stated that both drivers arrived in the corner with “excessive speed” and neither would have made the corner.The stewards said the baseline penalty is 10 seconds, but they cut it because Hamilton was also off track and the incident came early on the first lap. The seven-time F1 champion was clearly not happy with the decision.He argued that Leclerc had all the free air and a larger advantage. Even Verstappen was surprised by the 5 seconds instead of 10. After the red flag restart, the Monegasque lost second to Hamilton after a fast start from the seven-time F1 champion.He locked up at the restart and, in his words, “went to the core of the tires,” which left him to fend off McLaren’s Lando Norris and Mercedes’ George Russell in the closing stages. The Monegasque eventually hung on to fourth, while Hamilton finished second. “I think we have to have some serious talks behind the scenes for sure,” Hamilton said after the race.Leclerc Thinks Hamilton Was More Unhappy About the PenaltyBut Leclerc played down the hard racing between the two. He said the Brit may have been more unhappy with the 5-second penalty than the racing itself. “We will talk about it, obviously,” Leclerc told the media after the F1 Mexico GP.“I don’t know if he was very unhappy with what I did, because I felt like it was very much on the limit also what he did. I think he was maybe more angry with the whole situation, how the situation was dealt with in Turns 4 and 5 with the penalty, etc.“So, this is something we’ll talk about for sure,” summed up Leclerc. He said both drivers made a mistake, as Hamilton went off as well, and he feels it isn’t much of a talking point.Leclerc Doesn’t See the Opening Sequence as a Talking Point“I mean, we are fighting for the win, and so, of course, there’s going to be very little margin left from him and from me,” said Leclerc. “At the end, we both did a mistake going into Turn 4. It’s not like we had contact or whatsoever. We both went straight, and that gave the opportunity for Max to overtake.“So yeah, I don’t think it should be that much of a talking point. Of course, Turns 1, 2 and 3 were very close, but I was expecting [us] to fight for the lead. Then, in Turns 4 and 5, we both made a mistake that I paid for with a penalty. Then you can argue whether it’s enough or not, and Lewis then paid out of five with Max.”He felt the track also made things trickier, which allowed this type of racing. Asked about the start, Leclerc explained that he saw an opportunity in the fight for the lead and went for it.Photo by Julien Delfosse/DPPILeclerc Explains His Side of What TranspiredHe repeated that neither driver made the corner. “I mean, it was definitely an opportunity,” started Leclerc. “In Turn 1, there was a gap on the outside, and I had quite a lot of speed around the outside of Turn 1, and there was very little space for Turn 2, which is expected for the win, obviously, and then for [Turn] 5, Lewis and I both tried to brake very late.“We both didn’t make the corner. I obviously cut the track.” Leclerc explained that he wasn’t sure what to do since Verstappen got in between, and the team didn’t say a lot either. With no certainty, he kept the lead and knew that there would be a penalty.“Eventually, after Turn 5, there was Max in between, which made the situation more confusing, and speaking with the team, I didn’t really have clear feedback, and I think it was just confusing enough to keep the position, and I was expecting some kind of penalty, and yeah, then we paid the penalty,” continued Leclerc.“I think we had quite a good pace, but unfortunately, on the second restart, everything went a bit more difficult. We spoke briefly with the team to try and understand. I asked what I should do now. And it’s always very tricky, and obviously, in that situation, you kind of expect to do you have to do something, but is it second? Is it a third? Is it fourth?“Well, fourth probably didn’t make sense, but a second or third, and yeah, in the end I kept going. Obviously, it’s going to be a bit of a talking point for sure at the next briefing,” said Leclerc, who added that marbles on the right side of the track caused his lock-up at the restart, even without much brake pressure.