Breaking: FIA Orders Ferrari Star to return Position to Williams D…read more
FIA Clears Leclerc After Imola Controversy as Ferrari Star Yields Position to Albon
Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc has escaped penalty after a late-race incident during the 2025 Imola Grand Prix involving Williams’ Alex Albon. The FIA confirmed that no further action would be taken after Leclerc voluntarily returned the position to Albon following a controversial move at Turn 2.
The incident occurred in the final laps of the race as Leclerc and Albon battled fiercely for fourth place. Leclerc, in a defensive maneuver, pushed Albon off the track at the exit of Turn 2, sending the Williams driver into the gravel and losing ground to a fast-approaching Lewis Hamilton. The Mercedes driver capitalized on the chaos, overtaking both Albon and Leclerc.
In response, Ferrari quickly directed Leclerc via team radio to give the position back to Albon. The gesture was enough to satisfy race stewards and avert a formal penalty. In its official statement, the FIA noted that it had reviewed video, telemetry, and marshalling data, and while the initial move by Leclerc was questionable, the voluntary return of position mitigated the potential breach.
“The stewards reviewed positioning/marshalling system data, video, timing and in-car video evidence and determined that it was alleged that car 16 forced car 23 off the track at the exit of turn 2,” the FIA stated. “However, before we could conclude our investigations, car 16 voluntarily gave the position back to mitigate the alleged breach. In the circumstances, we took no further action.”
Leclerc ultimately finished sixth, while Albon reclaimed fifth and Hamilton climbed to fourth. The Ferrari duo had started from 11th and 12th on the grid but delivered strong comeback performances. The quick decision by Leclerc and Ferrari to remedy the incident highlights the importance of on-track accountability and sportsmanship, potentially sparing the team from a costly penalty in the tightly contested 2025 championship battle.
