Charles Leclerc reveals stance on Lewis Hamilton collision

Charles Leclerc does not blame teammate Lewis Hamilton for the first-lap tangle between the Ferrari drivers at the F1 Chinese Grand Prix.

A nightmare Sunday for the famous Italian team concluded with both drivers being disqualified for separate offences.

There had already been drama right at the start in Shanghai as Leclerc and Hamilton came together while battling for early positions as the field winded its way through the first few corners.

Leclerc’s front-left made contact with Hamilton’s right rear as the Ferrari duo reached the apex at Turn 2.

While a full collision was narrowly averted, the contact caused damage to Leclerc’s front wing, destroying the left endplate. Hamilton escaped the tangle unscathed.

Leclerc was still able to finish fifth and ahead of Hamilton after Ferrari swapped their drivers around with the seven-time world champion struggling for pace.

“Honestly it was not Lewis’ fault, at all,” Leclerc said.

“From my side, I was on the inside and trying to position the car for Turn 3.

“Lewis didn’t know I was there. I didn’t expect Lewis to come back and take the apex, at the time he was on the outside.

“It’s a racing incident. It’s not the first or last time it will happen.

“It’s a shame it happened between the two red cars but there was no bad intention from either of us. It was unfortunate.

“Obviously that cost me quite a bit for the rest of the race.”

Ferrari decided against putting a new front wing on Leclerc’s car when he pitted. That meant he did not lose vital extra seconds in the pits.

“Of course, we are speaking about a big, big loss on my car,” Leclerc explained. “There was, for sure, the potential to do a lot better.

“We didn’t want to take the eight seconds at a pit stop to change the front wing, because then I’d have to overtake cars.

“We were very weak at Turn 12 so that made us vulnerable with the cars behind. It was hard to overtake because, in the lead up to Turn 14, we were far off.

“I didn’t want to take that risk. I wanted to keep track position and maintain the result.

“I think we did well. It’s a shame about the damage.”

Leclerc explains Mercedes ‘dragster’ comment

Leclerc briefly looked to challenge for a podium position as he closed in on George Russell, but he was unable to launch an attack on the Mercedes driver.

The Monegasque was heard telling his team over the radio that the Mercedes was a “dragster”.

“What I meant by ‘dragster’ is that they had good traction at Turn 12,” Leclerc said when asked about his comment.

“I think we were stronger for most of the lap. But at 11 and 12, they were so fast. I don’t know how much, probably five tenths over three corners. That’s enough for them to go away.

"It was very difficult for me to make an overtake into Turn 14.”

After failing to pass Russell, Leclerc was overtaken by Red Bull’s Max Verstappen as he lost P4 in the closing stages. 

He missed out on points altogether when he was later disqualified when his car was underweight.