Charles Leclerc has admitted that his aggressive defence against Oscar Piastri at the 2026 Belgian Grand Prix went “a little too far”. The Ferrari driver conceded that the move was risky and said it was not the way he wanted to race regularly after Oscar Piastri argued that the incident deserved at least a black-and-white warning flag.
The admission came during media day in Budapest, where attention is turning towards the Hungarian Grand Prix. Rather than reigniting the controversy, Charles Leclerc agreed with Oscar Piastri’s assessment and accepted that he had crossed the line while trying to defend his position at Spa-Francorchamps.
Charles Leclerc admits fault after Oscar Piastri Spa defence
Formula 1 has moved on to Hungary, but for Charles Leclerc the events of the previous Sunday’s Belgian Grand Prix remain a major talking point. The Ferrari driver secured an excellent second place at the chequered flag, but also attracted attention for an extremely hard battle with Oscar Piastri on the Kemmel Straight during the opening part of the race.
Charles Leclerc squeezed the McLaren driver almost onto the grass to prevent him from drawing alongside. The Ferrari driver escaped a penalty after the stewards decided not to take action, a ruling that generated considerable debate. The FIA subsequently explained why Charles Leclerc was cleared over the Belgian GP incident.
Oscar Piastri believed the move deserved a warning
Before arriving in Hungary, Oscar Piastri returned to the subject and suggested that Charles Leclerc’s defensive move in the previous race deserved “at least the black-and-white flag”.
Charles Leclerc was given the opportunity to respond during media day in Budapest. However, Ferrari’s number 16 driver made no attempt to fuel the dispute. In a notably candid admission, Charles Leclerc acknowledged that his defence had been too aggressive and effectively agreed with Oscar Piastri’s criticism of a move that had been close to the limit of what is permitted.
The discussion came as Charles Leclerc and Ferrari also considered why they cannot assume the Hungaroring will suit the SF-26, despite the characteristics of the Budapest circuit appearing potentially favourable on paper.
Charles Leclerc says he pushed too far beyond the limit
“In a way, I agree with Oscar, I think,” Charles Leclerc said. “At the end of the day, from my point of view in the car, I was trying to push to the limit. I think that with Oscar, I went a little beyond [the limit], so that is probably not how I want to race all the time.”
“At the end of the day, that way of racing is risky for me as well. You always try to leave as little space as possible, but perhaps in that case I pushed it a little too far,” Charles Leclerc admitted.
Leave a Reply