Lewis Hamilton told Charles Leclerc that he was anxious about the wheel-to-wheel battle around the Copse corner in the British GP.
Lewis Hamilton said to Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc that he was too anxious going around the Copse corner at the British GP as he wanted to avoid any collision with the Monegasque.
The drivers were involved in a multi-lap battle late in the race to score the third position in Silverstone. In doing so, Leclerc overtook Hamilton around the outside of the high-speed Copse corner.
The move drew comparisons to last year’s battle between Hamilton and Red Bull’s Max Verstappen. In 2021, there was a massive crash which saw Verstappen spin into the gravel at high speed.
Hamilton was held responsible for the crash and was handed a 10-second penalty. Despite the penalty, the seven-time world champion went ahead to claim the victory at his home circuit.
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Lewis Hamilton praised Charles Leclerc
Ahead of the Austrian GP, Hamilton was seen speaking to the Ferrari driver. In the new video of Ferrari’s behind-the-scenes YouTube series, the Briton was heard discussing the battle at the Copse corner the previous weekend.
They were discussing lap 48 of the British GP, where the Mercedes driver tried to pass Leclerc around the outside of Brooklands before completing the move around the outside of Luffield one corner later.
The Monegasque then reclaimed the position at the Copse corner by passing Hamilton, turning into the fast right-hander at around 300 km/h.
“I was like, “f***, I don’t want to just clip you and send you off,” Hamilton can be heard telling Leclerc in the six-second clip.
Speaking after the Briton GP, the Briton had praised Leclerc for his driving. He highlighted how the Ferrari driver was different from Verstappen last year.
“Charles did a great job, a great battle,” Hamilton told Sky after the race. “He’s such a sensible driver, definitely different to what I experienced last year. Copse, for example – we got through there no problem.”
Leclerc also admitted that the 2021 incident had been on his mind after he had completed the pass at Copse. “It was incredibly tricky and, actually, as soon as I passed the corner I look in my mirror and I had a flashback of last year,” said the Ferrari driver.
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