Unusual Hamilton-Leclerc radio message explained

Charles Leclerc was left confused in the second part of sprint qualifying ahead of the Chinese Grand Prix, following an unusual request from Ferrari. 

In SQ2, Leclerc was requested over the radio to let team-mate Lewis Hamilton past, despite the Monegasque having been in desperate need of a good lap time. 

"Can we swap the cars please," Leclerc was asked by his race engineer, before responding: "Swap the cars now?"

It was then confirmed to Leclerc that Ferrari did indeed want himself and Hamilton to switch positions, further to the 27-year-old's surprise. 

"Yeah, I'll do it but we've never done that and I'm a bit in the **** as well so..." Leclerc said in frustration. 

Both Ferrari drivers progressed to the final part of sprint qualifying, where Hamilton claimed a surprise pole position for the first sprint race of the season. 

Leclerc had to settle for fourth and was almost two-tenths of a second slower than the seven-time world champion. 

Ferrari's radio message to Leclerc had many wondering what had gone on and why the call was made. 

Former Aston Martin strategist Bernie Collins offered her thoughts on the position change when analysing the moment for Sky Sports F1. 

"I think Hamilton was in a slightly better position with his tyres, and wanted to push on during his slow lap,” Collins explained.

"Leclerc was trying to open a gap, trying to cool everything down, and that’s why they switched."

In addition to this, onboard footage of Leclerc showed that he made a mistake on his first push lap in the second part of sprint qualifying, putting him out of sync. 

Leclerc then gained track position on his team-mate during his final preparation lap by overtaking Hamilton, before Ferrari made the call for the drivers to swap back into their original positions. 

It suggests that Hamilton has qualifying priority at the Shanghai International Circuit this weekend, with him having been ahead of Leclerc.