Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc 'both cheated' as Ferrari duo make brave confessions

and have confessed to cheating in their regular games of chess. The drivers admitted in an interview at the Bahrain Grand Prix fan zone that they have been using bots to make moves on their behalf. Hamilton and Leclerc both enjoy recreational chess and have been spotted facing off on several occasions this season, including on plane rides and even at the F1 75 season launch event in London.

However, as was revealed to fans at the Sakhir International Circuit, some unsavoury tactics have been utilised as of late. "The worst thing is that my bot - the program that I was using - was worse than his, so I was cheating, and I still lost. I went to sleep so depressed."

Offering his side of the story, Hamilton chimed in: "I was laughing so hard on this flight, I was in tears. We both started cheating at the same moment! It was just so strange. And I lied initially. When he said: 'Are we both cheating?', I said: 'What do you mean?'"

While the Ferrari duo are sharing some tense battles on the virtual chess board, they are united in pushing for improved on-track performance from the SF-25. After relentless pre-season hype and intrigue, the Italian constructor has been subjected to a challenging start to the campaign.

Heading into the Bahrain GP, Leclerc and Hamilton sit sixth and eighth in the Drivers' Championship standings, respectively, and aside from the seven-time world champion's surprise sprint race in in Shanghai, the season has been absent from highlights.

However, despite suggestions from a report that Leclerc is frustrated with team principal Fred Vasseur for listening to 'every word' of Hamilton's feedback, the Monegasque racer insists that the relationship within the Ferrari camp is harmonious.

"I didn't quite understand where these rumours came from," he said in Bahrain. "What I said, and I say it again now, is that there are no negative things inside. There is a direction in which I found it very interesting to go and work, but it is done every year, and I want to push in that direction.

"There's nothing that I've seen written, which is that we're both going in very different directions or that the team was going in a different direction, none of that. Obviously, we're all here to try to maximise the potential of the car, and if I feel more comfortable putting the car in a different place, then it's good for everybody."