Charles Leclerc has given his account of the aggressive opening-lap battle with Lewis Hamilton at the Italian Grand Prix, admitting the two Ferrari drivers went too far while also arguing that his team-mate was extremely close through the first two corners. The Monegasque’s difficult Monza Sunday then became far more serious when he crashed heavily at the Parabolica, suffering a 50G impact and initially experiencing problems with the vision in his right eye.
It was one of the darkest Sundays of Charles Leclerc’s time with Ferrari, on a weekend when the Scuderia was celebrating Michael Schumacher at its home Grand Prix. His accident bore strong similarities to his crash at the same corner in 2020, while the opening-lap confrontation with Lewis Hamilton had already caused problems for the team by sending the seven-time world champion onto the gravel and down to eighth place. Charles Leclerc believes responsibility for that incident should not be placed entirely on one Ferrari driver.
Charles Leclerc reveals vision concern after 50G Monza crash
The impact with the barriers on the outside of the Parabolica was extremely heavy, much like Charles Leclerc’s accident there in 2020. The SF-26 hit the barriers at around 230 km/h, with a deceleration measured at 50G. The physical consequences were significant enough for Charles Leclerc to be concerned immediately after climbing out of the car.
“More than the blow to morale, it was the physical impact. It was quite strong. I was a little worried about my vision because I couldn’t see very well with my right eye, but now it has passed. Everything is fine, I’ve done all the checks and that’s the most important thing,” Charles Leclerc explained.
The Ferrari driver added that further examinations were still expected as a precaution before the next Grand Prix. “I think I’ll have to undergo some more tests. We still need to do some checks, probably tonight and tomorrow, to make sure we’re in perfect shape for Madrid. It should be the case, but it’s better to be safe than sorry.”
The severity of the accident can also be understood in greater detail through the telemetry analysis of Charles Leclerc’s Monza crash, which provides further context around the final moments before control of the SF-26 was lost.
Charles Leclerc later returned to the physical effects of the accident and confirmed that his vision had been his main concern immediately afterwards. “At the beginning I just had some problems with my vision. My right eye wasn’t seeing very well. But now everything is fine. That was the thing I was most worried about when I got out of the car.”
“Then afterwards, a little pain here and there, which is normal after an accident like that. So nothing more than that. Of course, it also hurts morale-wise to come away from Monza with zero points. It hurts, but we’ll analyse the situation.”
Charles Leclerc noticed a difference in Ferrari power delivery
The accident came during a phase of the race in which Charles Leclerc had been losing positions, and the Ferrari driver also noticed something unusual with the SF-26’s power delivery between the opening two laps. He was careful not to draw a firm conclusion before Ferrari could examine the data.
“Coming out of the first lap, at the final corner, I didn’t have much power. I had to slow down, and on the second lap there was much more, so we’ll see what happened. I think there was a difference between the first and second laps in terms of the power delivery,” Charles Leclerc explained.
“On the first lap, the feeling was quite strange. I had to slow down and accelerate and decelerate. On the second lap, I tried to do the same thing but… I don’t know, it felt a little strange. We’ll analyse the situation, but I don’t want to comment too much before we’ve checked the data and are 100 per cent certain.”
The comments leave Ferrari with another area to examine following a demanding Monza weekend for the SF-26. The team’s power unit had already been an important technical focus for the Italian Grand Prix, with Ferrari working on its SF-26 power-unit package for Monza. Charles Leclerc, however, deliberately avoided linking the unusual feeling he experienced to any confirmed technical failure before the data could be studied.
“It’s very frustrating, but that’s how it is. I can’t change the result. I’ll have to look forward and hope to make up for it in Madrid.”
Charles Leclerc says Lewis Hamilton was ‘too close’ in Monza battle
The other crucial moment of Charles Leclerc’s Sunday had come much earlier, at the first corner. Lewis Hamilton attacked his Ferrari team-mate, but an aggressive defence ultimately forced the British driver onto the gravel and cost him several positions. The episode immediately renewed scrutiny of the way the two Ferrari drivers race each other.
Charles Leclerc rejected the idea that there is a wider personal battle developing between them. “I really don’t know who’s pushing this narrative that we’re against each other. Honestly, at Zandvoort there had already been far too much discussion about it,” he said.
However, the Monegasque acknowledged that the intensity of the fight at Monza had crossed a line. “Here, it’s true that we went too far. I think with Lewis at the first corner, and then at the second, I tried to take the tightest line possible, but it simply wasn’t enough. And doing that here isn’t a good thing.”
The confrontation was particularly costly because it involved two cars from the same team at the beginning of Ferrari’s home race. It also left Lewis Hamilton having to recover positions after being forced onto the gravel, while Charles Leclerc’s own race would end shortly afterwards with the heavy Parabolica accident.
Explaining the precise dynamics of the fight, Charles Leclerc added: “Lewis was too close at Turn 1 and then at Turn 2. I don’t know whether there was contact. I was very far over the inside kerb and I tried to make the corner, which I didn’t take tightly enough. Then I only saw in the mirrors what happened, which is never what you want between two cars from the same team.”
The episode leaves Ferrari with both sporting and technical questions to examine after Monza. The team must understand what happened during the opening-lap fight, while its engineers will also study the possible change in power delivery described by Charles Leclerc. Those technical questions will form part of the wider work around the SF-26’s performance and development.
For Charles Leclerc, however, the immediate priority is his physical condition. With the initial problem affecting his right-eye vision having passed and the first medical checks completed, further examinations are expected to ensure he is fully fit. His attention can then turn towards the 2026 Spanish Grand Prix in Madrid, where he hopes to respond after leaving Ferrari’s home race with no points.
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