Leclerc Responds to Hamilton's Call: 'We Will Talk, But That Incident Was Not Just My Mistake'

Charles Leclerc has finally spoken out in response to Lewis Hamilton's request for an internal talk at Ferrari following the controversial incident on the opening lap of the Mexico City Grand Prix. The Monaco driver stressed that he is open to discussion, but rejected the perception that the incident was a one-sided mistake.

In the race held at the Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez, Leclerc attacked pole-sitter Hamilton at Turn 4 on the first lap. Both braked late and ran wide off the track. Leclerc cut the corner and briefly held his position, while Hamilton had to accept being overtaken by Max Verstappen, who capitalized on the chaos. The stewards then handed Leclerc a five-second penalty for leaving the track and gaining an advantage. The punishment was only served at the pit stop, and Verstappen went on to win.

After the race, Hamilton said the incident hurt Ferrari and demanded "a serious talk behind the scenes". Responding to that, Leclerc said the meeting would still take place, but he suspected Hamilton's anger was directed more at the overall situation than solely at his maneuver.

"We will talk about it. I don't know if he is very unhappy with what I did, because I also felt what he did was very much on the limit. Maybe he is more angry at the whole situation, how the penalty and so on. We will definitely talk about it," Leclerc said, as quoted by Motorsport.com.

Leclerc also dismissed the notion that the incident deserved to be the main focus. According to him, both drivers made mistakes while fighting for position at a narrow corner. "We didn't touch. We both went straight, and that gave Max the chance to overtake. So I think this doesn't need to be a long conversation," he added.

The stewards decided that both cars entered the corner with excessive speed. However, Leclerc was judged not to be entitled to the corner and completed the overtake off the track. Hamilton asked Leclerc to give the position back during the race, but Leclerc said he did not receive clear instructions from the team. "I asked what to do, but the situation was confusing. I held on and hoped there would be a penalty, and it turned out there was," he explained.

Furthermore, Leclerc highlighted the regulatory issue that often creates gray areas at certain circuits. He said he had discussed it with the drivers in the briefing before the race, and the conclusion was that changes to the circuit design were needed so that drivers could not take excessive risks on the inside of the corner. "If there was a wall at the exit of Turn 4, neither I nor Lewis would have braked that late. So there are things that can be improved from the circuit side," he said.

The incident adds to the long list of controversies at Mexico City's Turn 4, which is known as a trouble spot. Leclerc also acknowledged that the current rules are difficult to apply consistently because of the different characteristics of each circuit. He cited George Russell's incident cutting the chicane in Monaco last year, which he said applied only to that circuit.

With the world championship battle heating up, friction between drivers of the caliber of Leclerc and Hamilton within the same team could affect Ferrari's internal dynamics. Will the closed-door discussion produce a new understanding, or will it trigger greater tension? What is clear is that Leclerc stressed his focus remains on performance, not on the controversy.