Valtteri Bottas perfectly sums up the Lewis Hamilton vs Charles Leclerc story just before the Brazil GP.
The story between Lewis Hamilton, Charles Leclerc, and Ferrari was nicely summed up by Valtteri Bottas from Cadillac, who used to be Hamilton’s teammate at Mercedes.
Hamilton was upset with Leclerc after the Ferrari driver went off the track and got an advantage by going around the outside of turn four on the first lap of the Mexico City Grand Prix. Leclerc stayed in the lead after this, while Hamilton, who also left the track at turn four but rejoined properly, dropped behind Max Verstappen to third place. Leclerc got a five-second penalty instead of the usual 10 because the FIA stewards found some special reasons. Without a red flag in the middle of the race, Leclerc would probably have finished second behind Verstappen, but when the race restarted, Hamilton passed Leclerc, who then locked up badly and fell to fourth. After the race, Hamilton told his Ferrari race engineer, Carlo Santi, that Ferrari had “big problems” over the incident and was very critical of Leclerc.
One of the best people to talk about Hamilton and Leclerc’s different driving styles is Bottas, who raced with Hamilton at Mercedes from 2017 to 2021. Bottas joined Mercedes after a fierce rivalry between Hamilton and Nico Rosberg, which got worse after several on-track events in 2016. Rosberg won his first World Championship that year and retired shortly after, while Hamilton had already won two titles with Mercedes. Bottas and Hamilton had a good relationship and still do, with Bottas now racing for Cadillac. It was Bottas’s big crash in Mexico City, caused by a suspension failure, that led to the race’s red flag.
Talking about the incident between Hamilton and Leclerc before the Brazilian Grand Prix, Bottas said, “I haven’t watched it very closely, but things like that happen sometimes. They’re both very competitive, and Lewis seems to be back on form and wants to keep it. These small clashes happen in racing — it’s normal. But I’m sure they’re on good terms.”
Leclerc wasn’t at the Autodromo Carlos Pace circuit on Thursday before the Brazilian GP because he was at the birth of his first child and will miss the first practice session, but he’s expected back for the second. Hamilton did his media work and made it clear he hadn’t changed his opinion since his strong comments about Leclerc.
He said, “I don’t care what people think about what I said. Maybe sometimes you say things and later wish you hadn’t, but I don’t. I won’t apologize for being honest and real. No one has told me to keep quiet, and I won’t be silenced.
“Leclerc is very part of the team, and I knew it would always be a challenge. I respect that. I’ve worked hard to build a good relationship with Charles and to make sure we work well together.
“It’s not easy when someone like me comes into a team because I’m outspoken and always pushing for change. I’ll keep pushing as long as I’m here — that’s just how I am.
“I’m here to win, and to do that, you have to work well with everyone. I really believe this team can fight for the championship next year.”
When asked if Leclerc races him differently than others, Hamilton answered, “Yes. I see what you mean. In Singapore, he was right alongside Max on the inside and then backed off. It’s definitely different. But it’s the same with other teammates too, like Sebastian Vettel and Carlos Sainz.”