Vettel lifts lid on Leclerc relationship after Brazil crash

Sebastian Vettel says reports of rivalry brewing between himself and Ferrari team-mate have been overhyped following the pairs collision at the Brazilian Grand Prix.

Tensions have simmered between Leclerc and Vettel through much of the season, but bubbled over in Brazil as their wheels touched and caused significant damage, forcing both to retire.

It left Ferrari stewing over a first double DNF since the Singapore GP in 2017, but the team have said that clear-the-air talks have been held between team boss Mattia Binotto and the drivers.

Amid instances of refusal to follow team orders and now an on-track collision, Vettel says his relationship with the Monegasque remains strong.

He said: "Obviously it's unfortunate what happened and we want to make sure it doesn't happen again. That's clear. That's the most important.

"The key for me is that we get along, we don't have a problem with each other. I know that outside tries to hype this a little bit, but actually there's nothing to worry from the inside.

"I think the lesson is that if we race each other, then we need to give each other more room to make sure that we don't touch, because obviously it was a very little touch but the touch led to a poor result.

"I don't think there's so much more to understand. We're both not happy with the outcome. Obviously we didn't finish the race, so I'm happy with that front.

"We're both grown up and we spoke to each other, we spoke with Mattia.

"I think we've tried to go through as much as we can and we tried to move on. And it's clear that we want to make sure that this doesn't happen to us again."

Related

Latest F1 News

Big name driver 'very angry internally' after controversial battle

• April 23, 2024 09:57

F1 News & Gossip

Marko reveals Vettel requirements for stunning F1 comeback

• April 22, 2024 20:57