Hamilton and Leclerc squash Mexican GP feud ahead of Brazilian Grand Prix

Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc have settled their differences after their collision on the opening lap of the Mexican Grand Prix, with Hamilton confirming the pair spoke privately ahead of the Brazilian Grand Prix at Interlagos on Sunday 8 November.

Leclerc had attempted to pass Hamilton — who started from pole — on the first lap in Mexico City, with both drivers running wide. Leclerc rejoined the circuit in the lead, while Hamilton fell to third behind Max Verstappen. Stewards handed Leclerc a five-second penalty for the incident, and Hamilton made clear after the race that he wanted serious talks within the team.

Speaking following a rain-affected qualifying session in São Paulo, Hamilton was direct about how the situation had been resolved. “Fred [Vasseur] hasn’t cleared the air in the sense of me and Charles. We sat and spoke and we squashed it and we’re moving on,” he said, clarifying that the reconciliation came directly between the two drivers rather than through team principal Fred Vasseur.

“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.”

Hamilton added that both drivers had shared their perspectives openly. “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.”

Both Ferrari drivers will face an uphill task in Brazil regardless. Hamilton will start from the back of the grid after Ferrari fitted his car with a new power unit, while Leclerc will line up 14th following a 10-place grid penalty for a replacement internal combustion engine.