"F*ck, I don’t want to just clip you"- Lewis Hamilton didn't want to 'send off' Charles Leclerc after they went wheel-to-wheel at the 2022 F1 British GP

Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc had their battle of the season at Silverstone when the seven-time world champion on fresh soft tires went after the Ferrari driver. There were some great back and forth moments as Leclerc tried to hold on for dear life against Lewis Hamilton, who had much fresher tires under him. At one point in the race, the two drivers were side-by-side at Copse and it was nothing short of a miracle that the Monegasque was able to pass Hamilton on the outside.

In a recent "all-access" clip released by Ferrari, Lewis Hamilton can be heard telling Leclerc that he was wary of clipping him and sending him into the gravel.

The Mercedes driver said:

“I was like, ‘f*ck, I don’t want to just clip you and send you off.’”

Leclerc admitted after the British GP that as soon as he passed the corner, he looked in the mirror and had flashbacks from last year when Max Verstappen and Hamilton crashed in the same corner in a similar manner. He said:

“It was incredibly tricky and, actually, as soon as I passed the corner I look in my mirror and I had a flashback of last year.”

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Max Verstappen's rebuttal to Lewis Hamilton's comments

The reigning champion was asked to comment on the remarks made by Lewis Hamilton after the 2022 British GP and he said that he was happy that at 37 years old the Mercedes driver was still learning how to hit the apex.

The remark in question was the one Lewis Hamilton made when talking about the wheel-to-wheel action at Copse in the 2022 British GP and pointed out how Leclerc was a 'sensible driver' and the two could go wheel-to-wheel without an issue.

Verstappen replied to Hamilton's subtle jibe:

“I think it’s quite nice that, at 37 years of age, you can still learn how to hit an apex. He is learning, so that is positive. It is also good for younger drivers to know that you are still learning when you are 37 years old.”

He added:

“You can clearly see in the footage what was different compared to last year. I think Charles gave him less space than I did last year, so that says it all. And in the end, [Lewis] was the one who got penalized last year, so there’s no point talking about that either.”

While Verstappen and Hamilton may no longer be in the championship battle together, it is clear to see that last year made an impression on both the drivers.