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Charles Leclerc rages at teammate Lewis Hamilton during the F1 Chinese GP sprint. Leclerc and Hamilton battle fiercely.
Charles Leclerc drives in front of Ferrari’s British driver Lewis Hamilton during the sprint race (Picture credit: AFP)
Star Ferrari driver Charles Leclerc was heard raging at teammate and seven-time world champion Lewis Hamilton during the Formula 1 Chinese Grand Prix sprint on Saturday, March 14.
Ferrari had the second-fastest car at the Australian GP, but heading into the Chinese GP, McLaren found extra pace, with defending world champion Lando Norris qualifying ahead of both Ferraris for the sprint shootout.
As expected, both Ferraris made a strong start in the sprint race, with Hamilton taking the lead on Lap 1 and Leclerc moving up to P3. George Russell and his former teammate Hamilton then battled for the lead over the opening seven laps before the Mercedes driver managed to pull clear.
This left Hamilton in P2 and his Ferrari teammate in P3 as the two started battling each other. Leclerc took to the team radio, suggesting the seven-time F1 champion was struggling with his tyres, before the Monegasque made a move to take P2.
On Lap 9, Hamilton made a move on Leclerc into Turn 1, sweeping around the outside before taking the inside line at Turn 2 as their battle carried into Turn 3. The pair almost made contact in the duel and lost time to race leader Russell.
“Uhh, the space! Does he know how wide these cars are, or not? Then he can complain about turn 3, that is ok,” Leclerc said while speaking on the team radio.
Hamilton emerged in front early on the second lap as his teammate Leclerc put pressure on Russell.
Russell and Hamilton engaged in a fierce battle for the lead, swapping positions multiple times over the opening five laps, with Leclerc close behind in third.
Hamilton’s tyres had taken a lot of punishment in the early skirmishes and Leclerc took advantage by passing his Ferrari teammate late on lap nine.
March 14, 2026, 10:37 IST
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