“What the fu** was that?!” Charles Leclerc reacted furiously over Ferrari team radio after narrowly avoiding a potentially serious collision with Rafael Câmara during the second free practice session for the 2026 Brazilian Grand Prix. The Ferrari driver was forced to take evasive action at high speed, passing dangerously close to the barriers at Interlagos after encountering the slow-moving Haas. Although the FIA stewards described the situation as “clearly dangerous”, the Brazilian rookie escaped with only a formal reprimand and no grid penalty.
The incident unfolded as Charles Leclerc was completing a flying lap on soft tyres, approaching the uphill final section of the São Paulo circuit. With Rafael Câmara’s Haas occupying the racing line and moving from side to side, the Monegasque suddenly found himself with almost nowhere to go. His quick reaction prevented a collision, but the manoeuvre took him frighteningly close to the wall and ruined his lap.
Charles Leclerc narrowly avoids high-speed crash with Rafael Câmara in Brazil FP2
Charles Leclerc was travelling at high speed towards the final part of Interlagos when he encountered Rafael Câmara’s Haas directly ahead. The Brazilian driver was moving slowly, remained on the racing line and even began weaving without moving aside to allow the faster Ferrari through.
With the gap closing rapidly, Charles Leclerc had virtually no time to react. The Ferrari driver was forced to make a sudden move towards the outside of the circuit, steering sharply to the right to avoid hitting the Haas.
The manoeuvre brought the SF-26 extremely close to the wall and the surrounding barriers. Charles Leclerc managed to squeeze through by the narrowest of margins, avoiding what could have become a substantial accident at one of the fastest sections of the circuit.
His lap was effectively compromised, costing him valuable time and prompting an immediate, angry reaction over Ferrari team radio.
At the end of the second sector, before encountering the Haas, Charles Leclerc was already 0.334 seconds behind FP2 leader Andrea Kimi Antonelli. It was therefore not a lap that appeared likely to produce the fastest time, but that did nothing to diminish the danger created by the encounter.
The incident added another frustrating moment to a difficult practice session for Ferrari, with Charles Leclerc also reporting significant problems with the SF-26 during Brazilian Grand Prix FP2.
Rafael Câmara’s difficult home debut at Interlagos
The Haas involved belonged to Rafael Câmara, the Brazilian rookie making his Formula 1 debut in front of his home crowd at Interlagos.
The youngster had finished 18th in the opening practice session before improving to 16th in FP2. It was supposed to be a celebratory weekend for the home driver, but his encounter with Charles Leclerc brought unwanted attention from the FIA stewards.
The incident was also highlighted by Formula 1’s official social media account, which shared footage of the Charles Leclerc and Rafael Câmara near-miss during Friday’s running.
FIA calls Charles Leclerc incident dangerous but gives Rafael Câmara only a reprimand
Following the session, Rafael Câmara was summoned to appear before the stewards. They reviewed the available video footage, onboard camera recordings and team radio communications before reaching their decision.
In their official report, the stewards concluded that the Haas driver had unnecessarily impeded Charles Leclerc and that the circumstances posed a clear safety risk.
“The situation that was created was clearly dangerous and car number 51 should have taken greater care to avoid impeding car number 16,” the stewards stated.
Despite that assessment, the FIA decided against imposing a grid penalty on the Brazilian rookie.
Rafael Câmara was found responsible for unnecessarily impeding another competitor, in breach of Article B4.1.1 of the Formula 1 regulations. However, the sanction was limited to a formal reprimand, his first of the season.
The decision means the Haas driver will face no starting-grid penalty for the incident, despite the stewards explicitly acknowledging the dangerous situation involving the Ferrari.
For Charles Leclerc, the immediate consequence was a ruined flying lap and a narrowly avoided collision. The Ferrari driver now heads into the remainder of the 2026 Brazilian Grand Prix weekend knowing that a potentially serious incident ended without contact, while the driver responsible received only a reprimand.
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