Charles Leclerc doubles down on ‘unfair' Ferrari F1 scrutiny after Lewis Hamilton fights

Charles Leclerc has doubled down on his belief that Ferrari faces unfair scrutiny and treatment compared to its Formula 1 rivals when fights with his team-mate Lewis Hamilton occur. 

Ferrari found itself in the headlines for the wrong reasons at the Italian Grand Prix after Leclerc and Hamilton clashed at the start of the race, compromising the team’s result on a dreadful weekend at Monza. 

After the Turn 1 collision, Leclerc hit out at the media and said he doesn’t understand “who is forcing that narrative” of a team-mate rivalry at Ferrari, before he took the blame for the incident in clear-the-air talks with the seven-time world champion. 

It is not the first flashpoint between Leclerc and Hamilton this year, with the pair also ending up in a fierce battle during the Chinese Grand Prix weekend in Shanghai. 

Speaking ahead of the Azerbaijan Grand Prix, Leclerc insisted he is enjoying his fights with Hamilton, but thinks events at Ferrari are “over-analysed” and “over-discussed” in relation to other teams. 

“Of course there's been moments where I went too far, where Lewis went too far, but I think the key in that is to discuss,” the Monegasque said in Wednesday’s FIA press conference in Baku. 

“I’ve been with Ferrari since 2019 now, and I know how everything we do is over-analysed, over-discussed and very often the conclusions that are taken after those kind of fights are the wrong ones. 

“We only need to speak with Lewis to kind of understand we've been doing that all our lives. We both want to win and there's competition, but we also want to win as a team and to make Ferrari come out on top eventually. That is the priority. 

“I enjoyed fighting with Lewis, and that's what's exciting in Formula 1, is to be fighting against the best, and Lewis is definitely up there, so for me it's a big challenge, but I'm enjoying it.” 

Asked if the rules of engagement are clear at Ferrari, Leclerc replied: “Sure. Turn 2 in Monza is something that I've said repeatedly that it's not something that we want to see ever happen again, and that's going too far on my side, but I've been through it already. 

“I think it's pretty clear that we don't necessarily have to write those things for it, I think it's clear enough. But again, I feel like it's being over-discussed and over-analysed when it's about the red cars, and that's not really fair. 

“In Monza, if you look, the four top teams, three of them had fights like this with the car finishing in the grass and at the end of the day, the only thing we are speaking about still now is the red cars, which I don't think is fair.”