Charles Leclerc has suggested Lewis Hamilton did not respect the
rules after failing to hand back a position on the final lap of the
Azerbaijan Grand Prix. On older tyres compared to Hamilton, who had
pitted considerably later, Leclerc graciously allowed by his
Ferrari team-mate in a bid to attack McLaren's Lando Norris, Yuki
Tsunoda in his Red Bull, and the Racing Bulls of Liam Lawson ahead
of him. It proved a vain chase due to the DRS train sparked by
fifth-placed Lawson, who defended superbly to keep Tsunoda at bay,
and in doing so, held back the threat from the faster cars of
Norris and Hamilton. On the long straight to the finish line,
Hamilton was told over the team radio to hand back eighth position
to Leclerc, but conceded that, given he still saw a "0.001 per
cent" chance to pass Norris, his actions in lifting off the
throttle and braking to the line came too late. They crossed the
line just under half a second apart. The seven-time F1 champion
confirmed post-race that he would apologise to Leclerc , who felt
that Hamilton's actions were not in keeping with the spirit of such
an unwritten rule. The flipside from Leclerc's perspective,
however, is that it was only eighth position that Hamilton should
have ceded, not a high points-paying place he hopes will be
respected in the future. "I think it was very clear [what
happened]," assessed Leclerc, speaking to the media, including
RacingNews365 post-race. "But I really don't care for an eighth
place at the end. I don't think that this should be the talking
point, unfortunately. "We have been very slow all weekend, and
that's what we should focus on. P8 or P9, or P9 or P8 is not
something that really interests me, so it's fine." Pointed out to
Leclerc that it is customary for a driver to hand back a place to
his team-mate if he has failed in his quest to pass his rivals
ahead, Leclerc replied: "There are rules that we know we've got to
work with, and maybe those rules were not respected. "But again,
P8, P9, P9, P8, that's small going forward. Obviously, if we are
fighting for sexier oppositions, which I hope will be the case,
then I hope that we will work differently, but on a day like this,
honestly, I don't really mind."
rules after failing to hand back a position on the final lap of the
Azerbaijan Grand Prix. On older tyres compared to Hamilton, who had
pitted considerably later, Leclerc graciously allowed by his
Ferrari team-mate in a bid to attack McLaren's Lando Norris, Yuki
Tsunoda in his Red Bull, and the Racing Bulls of Liam Lawson ahead
of him. It proved a vain chase due to the DRS train sparked by
fifth-placed Lawson, who defended superbly to keep Tsunoda at bay,
and in doing so, held back the threat from the faster cars of
Norris and Hamilton. On the long straight to the finish line,
Hamilton was told over the team radio to hand back eighth position
to Leclerc, but conceded that, given he still saw a "0.001 per
cent" chance to pass Norris, his actions in lifting off the
throttle and braking to the line came too late. They crossed the
line just under half a second apart. The seven-time F1 champion
confirmed post-race that he would apologise to Leclerc , who felt
that Hamilton's actions were not in keeping with the spirit of such
an unwritten rule. The flipside from Leclerc's perspective,
however, is that it was only eighth position that Hamilton should
have ceded, not a high points-paying place he hopes will be
respected in the future. "I think it was very clear [what
happened]," assessed Leclerc, speaking to the media, including
RacingNews365 post-race. "But I really don't care for an eighth
place at the end. I don't think that this should be the talking
point, unfortunately. "We have been very slow all weekend, and
that's what we should focus on. P8 or P9, or P9 or P8 is not
something that really interests me, so it's fine." Pointed out to
Leclerc that it is customary for a driver to hand back a place to
his team-mate if he has failed in his quest to pass his rivals
ahead, Leclerc replied: "There are rules that we know we've got to
work with, and maybe those rules were not respected. "But again,
P8, P9, P9, P8, that's small going forward. Obviously, if we are
fighting for sexier oppositions, which I hope will be the case,
then I hope that we will work differently, but on a day like this,
honestly, I don't really mind."
The post Charles Leclerc hoping for 'respect' from Lewis Hamilton in 'sexier positions' situation appeared first on RacingNews365.