Admission of guilt
We are in Hungary but, at least as far as Charles Leclerc is concerned, the echo of what happened last Sunday at Spa-Francorchamps, in the Belgian GP, is still strong. The Ferrari driver achieved a splendid second place under the checkered flag, but he also stood out for a very tough duel on the Kemmel straight in the first part of the race against Oscar Piastri. Leclerc squeezed the McLaren Australian almost onto the grass to prevent him from pulling alongside, escaping a penalty from the stewards who – not without sparking controversy – decided to not punish his behavior.
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Before arriving in Hungary, Piastri returned to address the issue, suggesting that the maneuver performed by Leclerc in the last race deserved “at least the black and white flag”. On the media day in Budapest, it was Leclerc’s turn to respond, but the red #16 did not want to rekindle the controversy, quite the opposite. In a surge of honesty that was anything but obvious, the Monegasque admitted to having exceeded in the harshness of the defensive action and essentially agreed with Piastri, who had reprimanded him for his behavior at the limit of what is allowed.
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Too far over the limit
“In a way, I agree with Oscar, I think – commented Leclerc – I mean, at the end of the day, my opinion in the car is that I tried to push to the limit; I think with Oscar I went a bit over [the limit], so that’s probably not how I want to race all the time. Ultimately, it’s risky for me too [that way of racing]. You always try to leave as little space as possible, but maybe in that case I pushed a bit too far”, he admitted.
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