insists he and have “squashed” their internal conflict after face-to-face talks following the Italian Grand Prix.
The seven-time world champion, who had implored his Ferrari team to throw their full weight behind his title tilt, criticised the Scuderia’s “no rules” policy after the pair collided on lap one at Monza and Hamilton fell down the order.
Hamilton ended up finishing sixth before ruling himself out of the championship race after ’s stunning victory, with the gap now 76 points with 10 rounds remaining.
Yet ahead of this weekend’s Spanish Grand Prix at a new street circuit in Madrid, Hamilton insisted Leclerc had shown “maturity” in the behind-closed-doors talks.
“There was no shying away from having a discussion,” Hamilton said on Thursday.
“We were both open and honest and we squashed it. For one, it shows the maturity from him and two, it’s healthy a relationship built over time.
“I’m sure there’ll be more times we’re close (on track), close in pace. We both want to win as much as each other and for the team.”
Asked further about whether he was surprised about the intra-team clash, Hamilton bluntly replied: “Look at the history of the sport.”
“It’s about making sure we’re executing for the best result for the team,” he added. “Maybe one week we can work together to get a podium instead of finishing fourth and fifth.
“Mercedes had six-tenths on the straights in Monza, usually have three or four tenths. We’ve done a great job given that deficit, we’ve made improvements to the car and to the engine.
“There’ll be weekends we drop the ball but if we focus on our consistency, maybe we are able to capitalise.”
Antonelli, who celebrated his Monza triumph by going karting locally on Monday, went on to describe the track as the “most complicated of the year”, adding: “It’s exciting, it’s challenging but there’s zero margin for mistake.”
