Charles Leclerc confirms Lewis Hamilton talks intention after ‘grey area’ exposed

Charles Leclerc has confirmed he intends to speak with Ferrari team-mate Lewis Hamilton after their opening-lap collision in Mexico City left Hamilton visibly frustrated and exposed what the Monegasque called a “grey area” in the rulebook.

The clash occurred on the first lap of the Mexico City Grand Prix, when Leclerc attempted an outside move on Hamilton into Turn 4. Both cars ran in deep and wide, with Leclerc cutting across the grass through Turn 5 to emerge in the lead. Hamilton rejoined the track before Turn 5 but lost the place to Max Verstappen in the process.

The stewards handed Leclerc a five-second time penalty for completing the overtake off-track and gaining a lasting advantage, reduced from the standard 10-second sanction because Hamilton had also run wide and the incident happened on the opening lap.

Ferrari served the penalty during Leclerc’s scheduled pit stop rather than through an on-track swap, with Hamilton initially staying behind his team-mate having been beyond five seconds adrift.

Verstappen went on to win the race, with Hamilton second and Leclerc fourth behind Kimi Antonelli who clinched the title. A late red flag offered the seven-time champion a chance to attack.

Leclerc addressed the fallout with select media, including RacingNews365, after the chequered flag.

“We will talk about it, obviously,” Leclerc said. “I don’t know if he was very unhappy with what I did, because I felt like what he did was very much on the limit as well.

“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.”

Charles Leclerc calls for F1 circuit changes

Leclerc’s five-second punishment allowed him to build enough of a gap that the penalty carried little real consequence once served in the pits.

Pre-race notes had told drivers to give back positions before Turn 12 if they gained an advantage, yet cutting the corner let Leclerc pull clear in clean air.

Asked whether tougher penalties were needed for such scenarios, Leclerc did not shy away from the debate.

“Yeah, but there are also rules written down, and that’s a difficult thing as well,” Leclerc explained. “The thing is, if you take this situation by the rules, it’s not so different from other situations.

“However, I do agree with you. Sometimes there are scenarios in which you gain more than the other, but, on paper, you’ve got to stick to the rules.

“So I think eventually we just need tracks that don’t allow us to play with those kinds of limits and grey areas, because then it ends up being a bit of a difficult one. And I’m sure, yeah, many people will see it in a very bad way, which I understand, but it is what it is.”