Leclerc explains Monza crash as he reacts to ‘way too close’ Hamilton battle

Charles Leclerc has explained what caused his dramatic crash out of the Italian Grand Prix, with the Monegasque also giving his take on his “way too close” wheel-to-wheel battle with team mate Lewis Hamilton.

After starting from P3 and P4 on the grid – Leclerc ahead of Hamilton – the two Ferraris went side-by-side into the second corner as the race got underway.

Hamilton then had to take to the gravel and dropped backwards, leading the seven-time World Champion to suggest over the radio that he had been pushed off.

Leclerc’s subsequent charge did not last long as the 28-year-old ran off the track at Parabolica and into the barriers on Lap 2, putting him out of the race to the disappointment of the Tifosi watching on. Fortunately he was unharmed in the incident.

Speaking to the media later on, Leclerc firstly shared his thoughts on his fight with Hamilton and conceded that it is “never what you want” to see between team mates.

“With Lewis it was a way too close into Turn 1 and unfortunately in Turn 2 – I don't know if we had contact or whatsoever,” he explained.

“I was quite a lot on the inside curve and tried to make the corner, which I didn't do it tight enough, and then I obviously only saw in the mirrors what happened which is never what you want between two cars, between two cars of the same team.”

Reflecting on his exit from the race, Leclerc added: “Then for the crash itself, I went on throttle – on the first lap it felt kind of weird, I had to go back off and on throttle.

“On that second lap, I tried to do the same thing but, I don't know, it just felt a little bit weird, so we'll look into it.”