Lewis Hamilton has stated he will apologize to Charles Leclerc for not adhering to a Ferrari team order to yield a position back to his teammate at the conclusion of the Azerbaijan Grand Prix.
During a disappointing weekend for the Italian outfit, Leclerc allowed Hamilton to pass into eighth place with seven laps remaining. This move was intended to give the seven-time world champion an opportunity to utilize his fresher tires to chase down the competitors ahead.
The position swap was contingent on Hamilton returning the place to Leclerc if his efforts to gain further positions were unsuccessful. However, the British driver failed to decelerate sufficiently as he approached the checkered flag, ultimately finishing ahead of Leclerc.
Hamilton explained: “Firstly… obviously I was quicker [at that point in the race], but Charles was gracious enough to let me by. Ultimately, I received the message very late, and I was completely focused on the car in front of me, even though there was perhaps only a 0.0001% chance of overtaking, I still held onto some hope.”
Marcus Prine 
Rupert Hollis