The race weekend at the Autodromo Jose Carlos Pace Interlagos has brought much-needed relief to the Scuderia Ferrari garage following the simmering tension between Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc. A fiercely contentious opening-lap clash during the Mexico City Grand Prix last week triggered an internal storm, after an aggressive battle for the lead saw the Monegasque driver slapped with a five-second time penalty and cost the team its best shot at a Grand Prix victory in recent memory.
Disappointment engulfed the Maranello outfit, with the seven-time World Champion reportedly demanding serious conversations regarding team mentality and intra-team racing etiquette. Ferrari Team Principal Fred Vasseur echoed those sentiments, expressing visible anger that collective team interests must always take precedence. Meanwhile, Leclerc arrived in South America fresh from celebrating the birth of his firstborn child with his wife, Alexandra, earlier in the week.
Despite the initial friction, the air has now been cleared between the two high-profile teammates. Speaking to Sky Sports F1 following a rain-soaked qualifying session in Sao Paulo, the British star revealed that while team management didn't heavily mediate the process, the two drivers reached a major, positive conclusion through direct dialogue.
"I mean, Fred hasn’t cleared the air, in the sense of like me and Charles," the veteran driver explained. "We sat and spoke, and we squashed it, and we’re moving on."
"I think we still have a huge amount of respect for each other, and I’m glad we had a chat. Now we move on. And we’ve been getting along just fine as normal, so sometimes, in those scenarios, it just takes having a conversation," he added.
Elaborating on the nature of their summit, Hamilton emphasized that neither party placed unreasonable demands on the other, focusing instead on constructive feedback and mutual support as the team prepares to tackle the remaining rounds in their pursuit of securing second place in the Constructors' Championship.
"And there’s been no demands from either side. It’s just been both giving our points and areas that we can do better and support each other. So I’m hoping to have a better race this week, of course," he concluded, as the team looks to overcome grid penalties at Interlagos.
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