Charles Leclerc addresses the failed Lewis Hamilton position swap at the end of the F1 Azerbaijan GP

Ferrari driver Charles Leclerc claimed that he was unbothered that his and Lewis Hamilton's attempt to swap positions on the final lap of the race did not work out during the 2025 Azerbaijan Grand Prix. It was a difficult weekend for the eight-time F1 race winner as he looked off the pace at one of his strongest circuits.

Coming into Baku, the 27-year-old had claimed four consecutive pole positions at the track and was looking to add to his tally. However, he crashed out of Q3 and failed to set a lap time, starting the race from P10.

After making a good start and jumping off McLaren driver Lando Norris after the safety car restart, Charles Leclerc made an early pitstop in his bid to keep the Brit behind him. However, he was stuck behind VCARB driver Liam Lawson, which thwarted his progression.

It eventually allowed Norris to pass him in the final laps following his pit stops, with the Monegasque even allowing his teammate Lewis Hamilton to get past him. But when the Italian team instructed the duo to swap positions on the final lap, the pair were unable to pull off the swap, with Leclerc finishing four tenths behind the Brit.

In his post-race interview, Charles Leclerc was asked about the failed swap with Lewis Hamilton, to which he replied:

"Honestly, we’re talking about a P8 and P9; it’s not the end of the world. But honestly, it’s not at all what I’ll be thinking about when I get home, but rather the disappointing performance of the weekend.”

The result meant that it was the first time since the British GP in July that Leclerc finished behind his teammate in a main race.

Lewis Hamilton gives his take on the failed swap with Charles Leclerc

Ferrari driver Lewis Hamilton was apologetic for his part in the failed swap with teammate Charles Leclerc on the final lap of the Azerbaijan Grand Prix.

As per The Race, the seven-time F1 world champion reflected on the subject and said:

"Firstly...obviously I was quicker [in that moment of the race] but Charles was gracious to let me by. At the end, I got the message really late on, and I was like zoned in on the car in front of me, even though there was like 0.0001% chance of passing, I was still hopeful maybe. "And basically I did lift on the straight, and did actually brake, but he missed it by like four tenths. That was just a misjudgment by me. I'll apologise to Charles. At the end of the day that's [only] eighth and ninth."

Lewis Hamilton had looked faster than Charles Leclerc all weekend and would look to carry the confidence into Singapore in the next race.

Edited by Devang Chauhan