Anthony Davidson disagrees with what Charles Leclerc said about Lewis Hamilton in the China Sprint

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Anthony Davidson does not agree with Ferrari driver Charles Leclerc’s view that Lewis Hamilton was too aggressive in their duel during the Sprint at the Chinese Grand Prix.

Ferrari once again showed better race pace than qualifying speed during the F1 Sprint at the Chinese GP, as the pride of Italy saw Leclerc and Hamilton rise from P6 and P4 on the grid to secure P2 and P3. Hamilton even fought Mercedes rival George Russell for the lead early on.

Russell converted pole to win the Sprint in China in the end, as Mercedes’ superior speed at the Shanghai International Circuit eventually saw him run clear before and after a safety car period. But Ferrari’s pace over McLaren largely left Leclerc and Hamilton to fight each other.

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Anthony Davidson rebukes Charles Leclerc’s view that Lewis Hamilton was too aggressive in the Sprint in China

Davidson felt Leclerc took advantage of Hamilton damaging his tyres early in the F1 Sprint in China whilst fighting Russell to initially claim P2 from his teammate at Turn 1 on Lap 8 of 19. But Hamilton initially kept with Leclerc and tried to strike back at the start of their next tour.

READ MORE: How to watch the 2026 Chinese GP, with F1 Sprint and Grand Prix start times

Hamilton saw his chance to retake second place when Leclerc went defensive into Turn 1 on Lap 9, so sent his SF-26 to the outside before diving to the inside for T2. As Hamilton did not complete the move, Leclerc threw his car to the inside for Turn 3 and retained the position.

Yet Leclerc was not happy with Hamilton forcing him onto the kerb, and nearly off the track. The Monegasque radioed in to Ferrari: “Uhh, the space? Does he know how wide these cars are, or not? Then he can complain about Turn 3 [on Lap 8]? That’s OK?”

But while Leclerc felt Hamilton was too aggressive, Davidson saw no issue with the move as it was “hard but fair”, even if Ferrari are facing “tense times” at the moment. He also thinks Leclerc needed to “trust” that Hamilton would not cause an incident, given his experience.

Davidson said on Sky Sports F1 (14/3, 03:19): “I thought it was hard but fair racing between the two Ferrari drivers. Obviously, it’s tense times if you are a team member there. But you have to trust somebody of Lewis’ experience, I think, when you’re in that kind of battle.”

Sam Bird ‘wouldn’t want to be Fred Vasseur’ after Charles Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton’s battle

Sam Bird, who was a test driver for Mercedes during Hamilton’s time with the Silver Arrows, also feels the Lap 9 moment between the Briton and Leclerc was “fantastic racing” between two “world-class” drivers. But Bird still “would not want to be” their team principal after it.

Bird said on BBC Radio 5 Sports Extra: “For me, it was fantastic racing between two world-class, two of the best out there. I wouldn’t want to be Fred Vasseur.”

Leclerc dominated Hamilton in their head-to-head duels in their first term as teammates at Ferrari in 2025. The Monegasque thrashed the Briton 19-5 in Grand Prix qualifying sessions and 18-3 in races, excluding a double DSQ in China and DNFs in the Netherlands and Brazil.

Leclerc also beat Hamilton 4-1 in Sprint Qualifying sessions in 2025, as the latter struggled to adapt to Ferrari’s tricky SF-25 in the last year of the ground-effect regulations. But a close fight is seemingly now on the cards in 2026, as Hamilton is quick under the new regulations.

While Leclerc led Hamilton in qualifying and in the Grand Prix in Australia, the latter had the better pace towards the end of the race. Hamilton also led Ferrari in Sprint Qualifying at the Chinese GP and briefly during the Sprint, and he will hope to build on that in the Grand Prix.