Nico Rosberg asks Martin Brundle live on air about the Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc incident.

Nico Rosberg asks Martin Brundle live on air about the Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc incident.

Nico Rosberg didn’t agree with Martin Brundle’s take on the lap one incident between Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc at the Italian Grand Prix.

Leclerc and Hamilton started fourth and fifth on the grid at Monza, hoping for a double podium finish, but things quickly fell apart.

Hamilton saw a gap on the inside of Leclerc at turn one and went for it, ending up on the outside going into turn two. Neither driver gave way, and Leclerc understeered wide, hitting Hamilton’s Ferrari and sending him into the gravel.

Hamilton dropped to 10th place, while Leclerc stayed third—only for a short time. On lap three, Leclerc lost control coming out of Parabolica, crashed into the wall, and had to retire.

Leclerc was fine but the crash caused a long red flag. During the pause, TV replays showed the Hamilton-Leclerc clash from different angles, and Martin Brundle shared his opinion.

Brundle said Leclerc was well ahead on the inside and probably wouldn’t have gotten a penalty. He thought Lewis’ move into turn one was normal racecraft, but going wide at turn two was bold. He felt Leclerc was just a bit unlucky with his front tires not being ready, which caused the understeer.

When asked if Leclerc could have given Lewis more room, Brundle said maybe if his tires were up to temperature. But he thought it was just a typical first-lap mistake.

Then, 2016 world champion Nico Rosberg gave his views. He showed concern for Leclerc, saying the crash was tough physically and mentally.

On the incident itself, Rosberg was clear: if the car on the outside—Hamilton in this case—is ahead near the apex, the one on the inside must give space. Since Lewis was ahead going in, Charles was at fault for not leaving room.

Rosberg joked about Brundle’s opposite take, saying, “No way! I thought you knew what you were talking about!”

Brundle stuck to his opinion that Leclerc had the inside line and was upset after the first corner. Rosberg agreed that Lewis was a bit too aggressive.