MONZA, Italy -- Charles Leclerc admitted he and Ferrari teammate Lewis Hamilton raced each other too hard after they went wheel-to-wheel on the opening lap of the Italian Grand Prix on Sunday.
The Ferrari drivers started alongside each other on the grid in third and fourth before fighting for position in the first chicane.
Hamilton attempted to pass his teammate on the inside of Turn 1, but that left him on the outside for Turn 2, where he was pushed wide and lost five positions as a result.
Hamilton opened his team radio to say "Charles pushed me off" and was running in ninth place by the time Leclerc crashed at the end of the second lap and caused a red flag.
Asked whether the Ferrari drivers should have worked together to keep position, especially in the context of Hamilton's recent pleas to work more as team, Leclerc said: "I don't really know who is forcing that narrative that we are one against the other. At Zandvoort there were way too many talks already.
"Here it's true, though, that we went too far, I think, [with] Lewis in Turn 1. Then in Turn 2 I tried to do the tightest corner possible, but that was just not enough, and doing it here is not good."
Hamilton was later asked whether he agreed the battle went "too far," but was of the opinion his car positioning in Turn 2 meant he had the right to more space.
"I was ahead in Turn 2, by the apex, I was ahead. There was no 'we' in it," he said. "Afterwards we will take it offline and talk about it."
Team principal Fred Vasseur refused to offer his opinion on the incident, saying: "I prefer to discuss with [the drivers] first than with [the media] first."
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After Leclerc's accident at Parabolica on the second lap, which led to a 30-minute stoppage under a red flag, Leclerc received checks at the trackside medical center before being cleared by doctors.
However, the Ferrari driver said he briefly struggled with his vision after the high-speed collision and confirmed he would undergo further checks before next weekend's race in Madrid.
"The neck was OK, it was just the vision a little bit at first, the right eye was not showing me great vision, but now it's all good, so that's the thing I was most worried of getting out of the car," Leclerc said. "Then after that, a bit of pain here and there, which is normal after a crash like this, so nothing more.
"I think I'll have quite a few additional checks that we still have to do on my side probably tonight and tomorrow to make sure that I'll be fully fine for Madrid. It should be the case, but better be safe than sorry."
