Hamilton and Leclerc bury Ferrari feud in São Paulo after Mexico clash

Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc have settled their differences ahead of the São Paulo Grand Prix, with Hamilton confirming the pair spoke privately to clear the air following their contentious clash at the Mexico City race.

The friction between Ferrari’s two drivers stemmed from the opening lap in Mexico, where Leclerc attacked Hamilton, both drivers ran off the track, and the resulting chaos allowed Max Verstappen to take the win. Hamilton later stated publicly that Leclerc races him harder than any other driver on the grid.

Speaking after qualifying in São Paulo, Hamilton was clear that the resolution came directly between the two drivers — not through team principal Fred Vasseur. “Fred hasn’t cleared the air in the sense of me and Charles,” Hamilton said. “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 along just fine as normal. So sometimes in those scenarios it just takes having a conversation and there’s been no demands from either side.”

Vasseur had been unable to bring both drivers together in Mexico, with talks delayed until the Brazilian round after Leclerc remained in Europe following the birth of his child. During Thursday’s press conference in São Paulo, Hamilton had still doubled down on his Mexico comments before the private conversation took place.

Hamilton described the exchange as constructive rather than confrontational. “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 better races moving forward.”

Leclerc echoed that sentiment, confirming the relationship is back on solid ground. “I really believe that when we speak things are much better straight away,” he said. “Of course there is tension, of course we want to finish ahead of each other and sometimes we are not going to do things right. And it’s okay sometimes to disagree on the way you see things. But discussing those things then helps a whole lot.”

The Monégasque driver acknowledged the episode had grown larger than it warranted. “I think it took proportions that are way too big, but it has been around also for way too long,” Leclerc added, suggesting both men are eager to refocus on performance rather than internal politics as the season enters its final stretch.