Leclerc: Vettel should not have made costly Interlagos move

Frenchman Charles Leclerc says he and Sebastian Vettel will have to show less aggression towards each other on the track.

Sebastian Vettel and Charles Leclerc crashed in Brazil as they battled it out in a dramatic finale.

Charles Leclerc said Sebastian Vettel knows he should not have made the move that resulted in the Ferrari team-mates crashing at the Brazilian Grand Prix and is not expecting a repeat.

Both drivers were unable to finish at Interlagos after they clashed with just five laps remaining.

Vettel moved across the Frenchman's line before they reached Turn 1, causing contact between the two as they battled it out in a dramatic finale.

Mattia Binotto revealed the duo had cleared the air ahead of the season-ending race in Abu Dhabi this weekend after what the Scuderia team principal described as an "unacceptable" incident.

Leclerc confirmed he talked to Vettel during a visit to Maranello headquarters and the 22-year-old is eager to move on from a crash which he believes could have easily been avoided.

"I was there [at Maranello] for the simulator, so on this occasion we also took the day to discuss a little bit and I'm pretty sure it won't happen again," Leclerc said during the drivers' media conference on Thursday. "We called with Seb and we tried to understand both of our situations. I think Seb probably shouldn't have gone to the left, and he knows it.

"And I probably could have done a better job of avoiding him going to the left. So both of us have a bit of responsibility. But I think the most important is that everything is clear with Seb now and we move forward."

Leclerc said the costly smash will not stop the colleagues from racing each other.

"I think this doesn't change – we'll be able to race together," he added. "Obviously Seb and myself are very competitive. We both want to win but we also need to find the right compromise.

"As a team, we probably should try and be a bit less aggressive [with] each other for these things to not happen again. For the team it's not good, for everyone that is supporting us, it's not good.

"The consequences were huge in the last race, but if you look back at the contact, it was very, very small. So it was unfortunate – but we'll make sure it doesn't happen again."

Vettel was cleared to skip his media duties due to his late arrival in Abu Dhabi following the birth of his third child.