Charles Leclerc confirmed that he had personally apologised to his former Ferrari teammate Carlos Sainz Jnr for one of the two on-track incidents that took place between them during the highly eventful and weather-affected 2025 British Grand Prix, held at the iconic Silverstone Circuit.
The first altercation between Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz Jnr unfolded at The Loop, a tight and technical complex of corners where braking and traction are critical. This particular moment was broadcast on the global Formula 1 world feed and immediately drew attention, especially due to Carlos Sainz’s reaction over the team radio, during which the Spanish driver accused his former Ferrari teammate of executing what he described as a “reckless” overtaking attempt. Sainz appeared visibly frustrated by what he saw as unnecessarily aggressive driving from Leclerc.
Later in the race, a second clash occurred between the two drivers. This incident took place at the high-speed Stowe corner shortly after both Leclerc and Sainz had switched from intermediate tyres to dry-weather slick compounds during the latter stages of the Grand Prix, as the racing line began to dry. Initially, this second contact was only shown via Charles Leclerc’s onboard camera, making it difficult to fully understand the sequence of events. However, additional video footage later emerged from Carlos Sainz Jnr’s onboard view, revealing that the Spanish driver had been attempting an overtaking manoeuvre on Leclerc at the moment the Ferrari SF-25 lost control and went off the racing line. This off-track excursion caused the two cars to make contact once again.
Charles Leclerc defended his earlier move at The Loop, insisting that although his driving had been assertive and on the limit, it had been necessary given the evolving conditions on the circuit and the lack of overtaking opportunities. The Monegasque driver argued that it was the only realistic point on the Silverstone track where he could make an attempt to pass at that stage of the race, and he made it clear that he stood by the decision to go for it, expressing no regrets.
However, when speaking about the second incident at Stowe corner, Charles Leclerc fully acknowledged that the mistake was entirely his fault. He admitted that he had lost control of the car under difficult conditions and inadvertently forced the Williams driver off the circuit during the manoeuvre. Leclerc explained that he had gone to see Sainz personally after the race to apologise, recognising that his mistake had cost his former teammate valuable championship points. He offered his apologies directly to Sainz for the consequences of his miscalculation, underlining that he took full responsibility for what had happened.
The 2025 British Grand Prix proved to be a particularly challenging race for Charles Leclerc from start to finish. His difficulties began as early as the formation lap, during which he became one of a small group of drivers who chose to pit for slick tyres before the start of the race. Reflecting on that strategy decision, Leclerc stated that he was not pleased with the outcome and clarified that it had been entirely his own call. He explained that he had assessed the condition of the circuit and believed that the first and second sectors were sufficiently dry to justify a switch to slick tyres. Although he was aware that the third sector remained damp, he had anticipated this and believed that the circuit as a whole would dry out much faster than it actually did.
Charles Leclerc noted that he was not the only driver to have misjudged the situation and that several competitors had made the same incorrect assumption about the drying track. He suggested that this collective strategic error contributed significantly to his lacklustre performance during the race, although he made it clear that it was not the only factor at play.
The Ferrari driver emphasized that, more than anything else, the main issue he faced during the British Grand Prix was a total and consistent lack of pace throughout the race. He expressed a strong desire to uncover the root cause of the performance deficit before returning to Maranello, stating that he would work hard alongside the Scuderia Ferrari engineers and technical staff to understand the reasons behind his struggles.
Charles Leclerc explained that, from the moment the lights went out, he felt completely off the pace and unable to match the lap times of the front-runners. He described his race in stark terms, saying that he was essentially “nowhere” on the timesheets compared to the competition. In fact, he estimated that he was consistently around one second per lap slower than the leading cars. In addition to the performance issues with the SF-25, Leclerc admitted that he had made several mistakes of his own during the Grand Prix.
He stated that he had experienced significant difficulty simply keeping his Ferrari SF-25 within the track limits and that the race had turned into one of the most challenging and frustrating of his 2025 Formula 1 campaign. Charles Leclerc concluded by saying that he needed to thoroughly review and analyse every aspect of his Sunday performance, from the car’s setup and balance, to the tyre choices, to his own driving techniques and use of onboard tools. Only by doing so, he insisted, could he hope to understand what went wrong and avoid repeating such a difficult race in the upcoming rounds of the championship.
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