Lewis Hamilton to issue Charles Leclerc apology after Baku 'misjudgement'

Lewis Hamilton has stated he will issue an apology to team-mate Charles Leclerc after failing to let him by for position on the final lap.

In the closing stages of the race, Leclerc pulled over to let Hamilton through for position as the seven-time champion was equipped with fresher, softer tyres.

Hamilton closed up to the back of a DRS train being led by Liam Lawson in fifth, with Yuki Tsunoda, Lando Norris and Hamilton all following suit.

None of the pack could complete an overtake on the cars ahead, however Hamilton tried until the very end to pull off a move on Norris.

Having backed off too late, Hamilton reached the finish line before Leclerc could move back ahead of him.

Explaining the situation from his perspective, Hamilton told media including RacingNews365: “Obviously I was quicker but Charles was gracious to let me by.

“At the end, I got the message really late on and I was zoned in on the car in front of me.

“Even though there was like, 0.001 per cent chance of passing, I was still hopeful.

“I did lift on the straight and did actually brake, but missed it by like four-tenths. That was just a misjudgement from myself.

“I’ll apologise to Charles, but at the end of the day, it’s eighth and ninth. But it won’t happen again.”

Leclerc played down the significance of the situation, insisting the lower reaches of the points is far from Ferrari's desired position.

“For P8 or P9, it's not going to be a big talking point,” he said. “I don't really mind. 

“Obviously, these are things we agree between us and the general rules of how we want to work whenever there's a swap.

“It didn't happen, and that's okay. It's not like I would have been a lot happier being P8.”