Hamilton says Monza clash with Leclerc is settled after direct talks

Lewis Hamilton says he and Ferrari team-mate Charles Leclerc have cleared the air following their collision at the Italian Grand Prix, revealing the two spoke privately before this weekend’s inaugural street race in Madrid.

The pair made contact at Monza’s opening corner, with Hamilton accusing Leclerc of forcing him off the circuit. The incident cost Hamilton six positions, and he finished sixth while Leclerc crashed out — a bruising outcome for Ferrari at its home race. In the immediate aftermath, Hamilton pointed the finger squarely at his team-mate, while Leclerc initially suggested both drivers bore responsibility.

Speaking ahead of the Madrid event, Hamilton described a one-on-one conversation that resolved the tension.

“We sat face-to-face, just him and me, and talked about it,” Hamilton said. “We were both honest and open and then we quashed it and moved on.”

The seven-time champion had called for written rules of engagement after the clash, but acknowledged no formal agreement has yet been reached, noting there has been little time since Monza to address it.

Leclerc, for his part, accepted responsibility, saying he “went too far in Turn 2” and communicated that directly to Hamilton. He stressed the incident would not damage their working relationship.

The episode comes at a difficult stretch in Hamilton’s first seasons with Ferrari. He sits 76 points behind championship leader Kimi Antonelli — a deficit worth more than three race wins — with 10 rounds remaining, though he holds a 36-point advantage over Leclerc. Hamilton said in Italy it is now “far too late” for Ferrari to prioritize either driver, framing the team’s approach as joint execution rather than favoritism, with the aim of converting mid-grid finishes into podium results.

On his pursuit of a record eighth title, Hamilton acknowledged the mathematical possibility but called the gap “the biggest I have seen in a long, long time.”

Commercial backdrop

The intra-team drama unfolds during a high-profile period for the sport’s commercial operator. Formula One Group (FWONK), which holds the commercial rights to the FIA Formula One World Championship, saw its shares trade at $95.21, down 2.07% from a previous close of $97.22, valuing the company at roughly $23.8 billion. The Madrid street circuit debut is the latest expansion of the calendar under Formula One Group’s stewardship, and intra-team storylines at the sport’s most famous team tend to sustain audience interest through the season’s final stretch.

What to watch

• How both Ferrari drivers perform at this weekend’s Madrid street race, the first of its kind on the calendar.
• Whether Ferrari and its drivers formalize internal “rules of engagement” for wheel-to-wheel racing in coming rounds.
• Championship math across the remaining 10 rounds, with Hamilton 76 points off the lead.
• Formula One Group’s next earnings report for commentary on calendar expansion and audience metrics.

Source: original release