Charles Leclerc defends his Imola move on Albon, admitting it’s tough to apply F1 rules fairly in intense wheel-to-wheel action.
Charles Leclerc believes his maneuver against Alex Albon was fair. The Ferrari driver forced the Williams F1 counterpart off the track, but he maintains that he was entitled to hold his line without incurring a penalty.
However, the Thai driver was clearly alongside at the braking point, and the International Sporting Code states that, in such a case, it is standard to leave at least one car’s width on track to allow two cars to go side by side.
The race stewards justified the lack of a penalty by stating that Leclerc had let Albon through before the investigation concluded. This explanation appears questionable, since the cited scenario only applies when a driver has gained an advantage off track. That has no relevance here, where one driver was forced off.
“It was really on the edge,” Leclerc admitted about his defense. “I was aware of it in the car. Obviously, I approached the corner knowing it would be very tight. But once you’ve hit the braking point, there’s no going back. It wasn’t my intention.”
“Of course, I wanted to keep the position and I did my best. Did I go over the limit or not? I’ll review the footage. I gave it everything I had. I knew I had to make it stick with the tyres I had at that moment—I couldn’t afford to leave anything on the table.”
After the race, the Monegasque remained convinced he had stayed within the rules, though he acknowledged how difficult they are to interpret: “It’s true. We all know the rules and we always try to push their limits. That’s what I tried to do. Sometimes, it’s a matter of just a centimetre to be either within or outside the rules.”
“Making that judgment at 250 km/h is a bit tricky. I thought I was in the right. Of course, from the outside, it doesn’t look great because there’s a car in the gravel. But I’ll think about it again, and I’m always very honest with myself. If I believe I made a mistake, I’ll say it to Alex. But at the moment, I don’t think I did.”
As things stand, Leclerc believes finding definitive answers for on-track battles is unrealistic: “I don’t think we’ll ever have a situation where everyone’s satisfied. That’s my honest view on the matter. I think someone will always be unhappy. It’s very hard to please everyone.”
“I don’t believe we’ll ever find the perfect solution. I think we have to accept that. When you’re penalized for something, you have to accept it. There will never be a regulation that covers every situation. Even if it existed, it would be impossible to remember all the rules for all the different scenarios.”
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