Charles Leclerc sets boundaries with Lewis Hamilton ahead of Turn 1 battle

Charles Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton will start Sunday’s United States Grand Prix fourth and fifth on the grid, but the Monegasque says both drivers know “the line not to cross” heading into Turn 1 of the Austin circuit.

Leclerc qualified ahead of his team‑mate but has admitted that both he and Hamilton have overstepped at times throughout the season.

One example of this came at Monza earlier this year. The pair made contact on the opening lap of Ferrari’s home race as Hamilton lunged up the inside of Turn 1. Leclerc kept his line into Turn 2, pushing his team‑mate off the track. Hamilton dropped from fourth to tenth and later recovered to sixth, while Leclerc crashed out of the race on just the second lap.

Hamilton was critical at the time, saying: “Here, there are no rules. We need to address that.” Leclerc added, “Here, it’s true though that we went too far. I think Lewis in Turn 1, then Turn 2, I tried to do the tightest corner possible, but that was just not enough – and doing it here is not good.”

Charles Leclerc, Ferrari

Photo by: Chris Graythen / Getty Images

With both Ferraris starting close together on the first run up the hill to Turn 1 at COTA, Leclerc assured fans that neither of them will be making any aggressive manoeuvres on the other.

Asked whether the team had put any rules in place for the initial lunge, Leclerc was clear on what was expected from them both.

“No, we know what is the line not to cross, and again I think we’ve got some occasions throughout the year where I’ve crossed it, Lewis crossed it and we don’t want to see that.”

Teamwork will be an important part of the grand prix for the Scuderia pair.

“I mean it’s always important. I don’t think on a track like this there’s anything like Singapore‑style slow‑down strategies that require the whole team, but obviously just staying apart from each other is always a good idea no matter where we are.”

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