Just In: FIA announce penalty verdict for Ferrari star after late Inv… read more

FIA announce penalty verdict for Ferrari star after late Inv… read more

Ferrari driver Charles Leclerc will face no disciplinary action after his late-race tussle with Williams’ Alex Albon in Sunday’s 2025 Imola Grand Prix, the FIA confirmed.

The flash-point unfolded with only a handful of laps remaining. Leclerc, running just ahead of Albon in the fight for fourth, defended the inside of Tamburello. As the pair powered through the left-right sequence, Leclerc edged fractionally wide on the second apex. Albon, left with diminishing real estate, skittered across the gravel, lost traction, and surrendered momentum. In the crucial seconds that followed, Mercedes’ Lewis Hamilton swept past the Williams and, moments later, dispatched Leclerc as well— vaulting himself into the coveted fourth position.

Ferrari’s pit wall reacted instantly. Anticipating the stewards might deem Leclerc at fault for forcing a rival off-track, they ordered car 16 to cede the position he had just re-taken from Albon. Leclerc complied on the run to Variante Alta, restoring Albon to fifth and dropping himself to sixth behind Hamilton. That swift gesture proved decisive.

In their post-race bulletin, the stewards outlined the evidence at their disposal: GPS traces from the FIA’s positioning system, marshals’ sector reports, timing loops, on-board camera angles, and the host broadcaster’s footage. “It was alleged,” their communiqué read, “that car 16 forced car 23 off the circuit at the exit of Turn 2. Before our inquiry concluded, car 16 voluntarily relinquished the position to car 23, thereby addressing the potential advantage gained. Given this prompt restitution, we determined that no further action was necessary.”

Voluntary “give-backs” are not new, but they have become more prevalent under the current sporting regulations, which allow stewards to treat such gestures as sufficient remediation. By rectifying the situation in real time—rather than waiting for an after-the-flag penalty—Ferrari protected both its race strategy and championship prospects. A time sanction, even as small as five seconds, would likely have tumbled Leclerc outside the points on Imola’s short lap.

The end result left Hamilton fourth, Albon fifth, and Leclerc sixth—a respectable salvage job for Ferrari after a bruising Saturday. Both scarlet cars had struggled in qualifying, lining up only 11th and 12th on the grid amid cool temperatures that made tyre warm-up tricky. Yet through an aggressive first stint, undercut-timed pit stops, and clean overtakes, Hamilton and Leclerc clawed back lost ground. Their double top-six finish still yielded solid constructors’ points, though Ferrari know they missed a shot at a bigger haul.

Albon, meanwhile, recorded Williams’ best finish of the campaign, his calm recovery underscoring the squad’s steady progress with its lighter FW47B chassis. Post-race, he praised Leclerc’s sportsmanship: “Charles and Ferrari did the right thing. These cars are wide, mistakes happen, and it was fair to swap the places back on track.”

For Leclerc, the episode serves as a reminder of the razor-thin margins at modern grands prix. One misjudged metre can trigger investigations, cost positions, and shift championship momentum. By acting decisively, Ferrari turned a potential controversy into a footnote—proof that in 2025’s data-saturated Formula 1, speed is as much about decision-making as outright pace.