Lewis Hamilton vs Charles Leclerc saga summed up perfectly by Valtteri Bottas before Brazil GP

The saga involving Lewis Hamilton, Charles Leclerc and Ferrari has been summed up perfectly by Cadillac's Valtteri Bottas, who was formerly Hamilton's team-mate at Mercedes.

Hamilton was unhappy with Leclerc after his Ferrari team-mate left the track and gained an advantage after making a move around the outside of turn four on the first lap of the Mexico City Grand Prix.

Leclerc continued in the race lead after the incident, while Hamilton, who had also left the track at turn four but rejoined in the correct manner, fell behind Max Verstappen into third place. Leclerc would receive a five-second penalty - down from the usual 10-second punishment due to what the FIA stewards deemed to be mitigating factors.

He would likely have finished second behind Verstappen had it not been for a mid-race red flag, from which Hamilton overtook Leclerc on the restart and the latter suffered a severe lock-up to drop him down into fourth. Hamilton told his Ferrari race engineer Carlo Santi that Ferrari had 'big problems' over the incident and he was heavily critical of Leclerc post-race.

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Valtteri Bottas addresses Lewis Hamilton, Charles Leclerc incident

One of the best-positioned drivers to speak about the contrasting driving styles of Hamilton and Leclerc is Bottas, who was Hamilton's team-mate at Mercedes between 2017 and 2021.

The Finn arrived at the Silver Arrows following a fiercely contested championship battle between Hamilton and Nico Rosberg, whose relationship significantly deteriorated after a series of on-track incidents during the 2016 season. Rosberg would win his first Drivers' Championship - Hamilton had won two with Mercedes by that point - and promptly retired days later.

Bottas and Hamilton shared a good relationship and continue to do so today, with the Finn still in F1 with the Cadillac team. It was Bottas' heavy turn one crash, caused by a suspension failure, which brought out the red flag in Mexico City.

Speaking about Hamilton's incident with Leclerc ahead of this weekend's Brazilian Grand Prix, Bottas told reporters (via PlanetF1): "I haven't watched it so closely, but it happens sometimes.

"They're both obviously very competitive, and Lewis seems like he's got his mojo back and he wants to keep it. So not much to say really. I think these short, momentary frictions can happen, and can come in this sport. That's normal. But I'm sure they're on good terms."

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What Lewis Hamilton said before Brazil GP

Leclerc was not present at the Autodromo Carlos Pace circuit on Thursday ahead of the Brazilian Grand Prix, so didn't get the opportunity to share his side several days on from his incident with Hamilton. The Monegasque was attending the birth of his first child and will miss FP1 on Friday, but is expected to return for FP2.

Hamilton, though, did complete his media duties - and made clear that his feelings had not changed in the days since his public criticism of his team-mate.

"I don't really care what everyone thinks about what I said ... of course, there's times you say things and maybe you might regret it afterwards. I don't," Hamilton said. "I'm never going to apologise for being authentic and real and I'm not going to be silenced. I have not been asked to not say anything and that's just the way it is.

"He [Leclerc] is very much embedded within the team and I knew that it would always be a challenge. I've always respected that. I've worked really hard to build a good relationship with Charles and bridge that gap, and make sure that we're harmonious and work hard together.

"Naturally, it's not so easy having someone like me come into a team, because I'm very outspoken and I push and push and push for so many changes, and I'm going to be pushing for more as long as I'm here. That's how it's going to be.

"I'm here to win, and to be able to win you have to work with everyone around you. I truly believe that this team can be fighting for the championship next year."

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When asked by a reporter whether Leclerc races him differently compared to other drivers, Hamilton replied: "Yes. I can see what you see. In Singapore, he was fully alongside Max, fully on the inside, and he backed off. It is definitely different.

"But if you look at the team-mates, it was the same with Sebastian [Vettel], it was the same with Carlos [Sainz]."