Charles Leclerc involved in foul-mouthed rant over F1 racing rules

May 21, 2025

Charles Leclerc has lambasted Formula 1 rules as a “f****** joke” following his turmoil at Imola.

The Ferrari driver was left furious when he was forced to give a position back to Alex Albon in the final stages of the Italian Grand Prix.

Leclerc and Albon were battling for fourth position when the latter was pushed out onto the gravel. That allowed Lewis Hamilton to overtake both drivers and move into fourth spot.

In order to avoid a penalty for potential infringement, Ferrari advised Leclerc to hand the position back to Albon as the FIA confirmed an investigation.

Leclerc will face no further punishment because he gave the position back. It could have resulted in a five-second penalty, which may have seen him drop out of the points.

However, Leclerc was far from happy with the verdict. He fumed on the radio: “Is this what racing is now? When he can’t pass, I need to let him pass?

“This is a f****** joke. What did I do wrong?”

Charles Leclerc joins forces with Max Verstappen

LeClerc, 27, agreed with Max Verstappen’s views that the rule changes are limiting drivers from racing naturally.

At the start of the season, rule changes outlined that the front axle must be alongside the mirror of their rival before and at the apex of a corner. Therefore, it favours drivers on the inside line.

Leclerc added: “It’s true.

“We all have the rules in our heads and we always try to play with them, which is what I was trying to do today.

“Sometimes on those rules, a centimetre is enough to be within the rules or outside the rules.

“Judging it at 250 km/h is a bit tricky. I thought I was just in. From outside, it doesn’t look so nice because there’s one car in the gravel.

“I’ll look back at it – I’m always very honest with myself. If I think that I’ve done a mistake, I’ll say so to Alex, but for now, I don’t think I did.”