Hamilton apologises, but Leclerc shrugs it off

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September 22, 2025 15:14 IST

'Honestly, for P8 or P9 it doesn’t matter. These are things we agree on internally, and this time it didn’t happen.'

Lewis Hamilton, who finished eighth for Ferrari, was asked to swap positions with teammate Charles Leclerc on the final lap but the switch never happened, leaving the latter in ninth.

IMAGE: Lewis Hamilton, who finished eighth for Ferrari, was asked to swap positions with teammate Charles Leclerc on the final lap but the switch never happened, leaving the latter in ninth. Photograph: Hamad I Mohammed/Reuters

Lewis Hamilton admitted he owed Charles Leclerc an apology after a mix-up over team orders in Sunday’s Azerbaijan Grand Prix in Baku on Sunday.

Hamilton, who finished eighth for Ferrari, was asked to swap positions with teammate Leclerc on the final lap after the Monegasque had earlier let him through to chase down cars ahead. The switch never happened, leaving Leclerc in ninth.

“I got the message late when I was still pushing to catch Norris. I lifted and even braked, but Charles missed it by four-tenths. That was my misjudgement. I’ll apologise to him,” said the seven-time world champion, who had started 12th.

Ferrari boss Fred Vasseur felt Hamilton may have misread the start-finish line marker, while Leclerc shrugged off the incident.

“Honestly, for P8 or P9 it doesn’t matter. These are things we agree on internally, and this time it didn’t happen. It’s OK. It’s not like I’d be much happier being eighth,” said Leclerc with a smile.

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