Ferrari driver Charles Leclerc had a disappointing Imola GP this weekend. He picked up the scraps from a surprise Q2 exit. From 11th he finished 6th place, behind teammate Lewis Hamilton and Williams driver Alex Albon. It could have been even better but the VSC and Safety Car timings went against him.
Unfortunate safety car timing cost better result at F1 Imola GP — Leclerc
Leclerc faced untimely stoppages during the Grand Prix. Mercedes driver Kimi Antonelli stopped on the track, causing a Safety Car. This frustrated Leclerc as the timing couldn’t have been worse and gave drivers around him a free stop, and it was particularly costly against teammate Lewis Hamilton, as well as Alex Albon.
Along with that there was a VSC earlier after Haas driver Esteban Ocon stopped on the track, where both Ferraris boxed. Hamilton had started on the hards, Leclerc boxed early and looked set for a serious shot at P4 until that VSC.
Speaking in the print media pen after the race, Leclerc expressed disappointment on the compounding events.
“Very disappointed. Everything was going towards us in the first stint. Then there was a [virtual] safety car which cost us many, many positions.”
“Then there was a second Safety Car which cost us quite a few other positions because we started to overheat and we couldn’t change the tyres because we didn’t have anything available, so it was a big shame.“
When asked if there was a chance for a podium at Imola, he doesn’t believe it would have been the case as Verstappen and McLaren had better pace.
“Not with the safety car that we had on our side,” he said. “The safety cars were just in the wrong place with the strategy I had chosen. So I don’t think [there could’ve been a podium].”
I don’t think I made a mistake — Leclerc on Albon incident at F1 Imola GP
After the second Safety Car restart, Leclerc got into a tussle with Williams driver Alex Albon. It ended with Albon being side-by-side with the Ferrari driver and subsequently ended up in the gravel at the Tamburello chicane.
Wary of a penalty, Ferrari decided to give the place back to Albon after Lewis Hamilton had passed both of them. Although it was unclear if Leclerc was ahead at the chicane or not, it was a further added headache to the 27-year-old’s weekend.
“I knew that it was going to be one of those ones that is going to be very tricky. But once you go for the braking point, then there’s no way to back off anymore,” Leclerc said.
“That was not my intention. I obviously wanted to try and keep that position and I’ve done my best. Was it over the limit or not? I will check back the footage.
“But yes, I’ve given it all. I knew that I had to, with the tyres I was on at that time. I couldn’t leave anything.”
You can’t please everyone — Leclerc on FIA overtaking debate
On the note of the Albon incident at the Imola GP, Leclerc was then asked about the guidelines drivers have to follow. Max Verstappen remarked about how the rules ‘stop racing from being natural’, to which Leclerc agrees by.
“It’s true,” he said. “We all have the rules in our heads and we always try to play with them, which is what I was trying to do today. Sometimes on those rules, you speak about a centimetre is enough to be within the rules or without the rules.
“Judging it at 250 [kph] is a bit tricky. I thought I was just in. Obviously, from outside, it doesn’t look so nice because there’s one car in the gravel. But I’ll look back at it. I’m always very honest with myself. If I think that I’ve done a mistake, I’ll say it to Alex [Albon]. But for now, I don’t think I did [make a mistake].”
He does see that not everyone will be happy with the rules and guidelines the FIA gives to their drivers in the name of fair racing. He stated that it is impossible to cater to every driver’s requests.
“I don’t think we’ll ever have a situation where everybody’s happy. That’s my honest view on it. I think there will always be someone unhappy about it. I think it’s very difficult to please everyone. I don’t think we’ll ever find that sweet spot. I think we’ve got to accept it.
“When you’re penalised for something, you’ve just got to accept it. There will never be a rulebook that describes absolutely every situation. Even if there is, it will be impossible for us to remember all those rules for all those different situations.”
Leclerc on Ferrari’s Achilles’ heel during F1 Imola GP
The Imola GP is another weekend where qualifying was the main issue with Ferrari. Leclerc was asked how will they be able to dig out of this situation and start fighting at the front like they did in 2024.
“By working hard,” he said. “This is the obvious answer, but that’s what we are doing. I don’t think there’s any silver bullet to the situation we are in. We just need to work and try to understand where this problem that we have in qualifying comes from which is what is slowing us down at the moment.“
