By: A controversial week, marked by bitter comments and tension within the Ferrari garage. Lewis Hamilton left the Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez seething. The seven-time world champion could not accept Leclerc’s move at Turn 4, for which the Monegasque was handed a five-second penalty for cutting the corner. According to the stewards, that meant Hamilton avoided a much harsher sanction: a 10-second penalty for forcing him off track.
The FIA clarified the incident. Had Hamilton not been overtaken by Max Verstappen, the Federation would have handed Leclerc a five-second penalty for cutting the corner, but also given Hamilton 10 seconds for his overly forceful defence. In effect, it was he who forced Charles towards the outside.
A peace-making meeting was welcome
Despite that clarification, which came after Lewis’ initial post-race criticism, Hamilton continued his tirade against Charles Leclerc on Thursday, the media day at Interlagos in Brazil. Strong words were exchanged, to the extent that team principal Frédéric Vasseur — finally, one might say — decided to arrange a peace-making meeting between the two on Friday, in order to resolve any outstanding issues.
Until that point, when fortunately everything was cleared up, Leclerc had not said a word. The Monegasque arrived late at the track due to the birth of his first daughter, Bianca, and kept to himself throughout. He absorbed all of Hamilton’s accusations passively, without lifting a finger or uttering a word.
Getting those steps in 🚶â€â™‚ï¸ https://t.co/VZ9pAfijrF
— Scuderia Ferrari HP (@ScuderiaFerrari) November 7, 2026
Leclerc grants Scuderia Ferrari a truce
Some expected him to explode. Instead, once he arrived at the circuit, he behaved like a true prince, as many describe him. With the situation cleared up, he acted as though nothing had happened, precisely as Ferrari expects of both him and Hamilton. After the conversation with Vasseur, Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc went for a long walk through the paddock, behaving like good team-mates. They presented a united image of the team — exactly what was needed after such an intense week.
Witnessing such a miracle was far from guaranteed, and much of the credit for it, alongside Vasseur, goes to Leclerc himself. It was by no means easy to pretend nothing had happened after everything Hamilton had said in recent days.
Leclerc gave us the weekend’s best image by offering Scuderia Ferrari a truce. A truce we hope can continue and hold, at least until the end of the season.
Photo: X, Ferrari
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