20/05/2025 07:25
Charles Leclerc cut a frustrated figure after the Emilia Romagna
Grand Prix, claiming he "just cannot accept the situation" Ferrari
is in. It has been a difficult start to the F1 season for the
Italian team, with Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton only having one grand
prix podium - along with a sprint podium and win - to show for
their efforts after seven rounds. Despite championship-winning
aspirations heading into the campaign, the Maranello-based squad is
fourth, 165 points adrift of McLaren atop the constructors'
standings. The SF-25 has seldom looked competitive over one lap
all year It saw the Ferrari team-mates qualify P11 and P12,
respectively, at Imola. Whilst they both fought their way through
in the grand prix, finishing fourth and sixth, Leclerc had to put
in an aggressive and robust display to come home behind Hamilton,
with Alex Albon in between. "I was saying before the race, it was
one of the races where you've got to race with the heart and you've
got to put the elbows out a little bit," Leclerc said to Sky Sports
F1 . "I know that when it's like this, you go very much on the
limit, sometimes a little bit over. But when you are starting P11,
I mean, as a driver, I just cannot accept the situation we are in."
Leclerc: 'I don't regret anything...' Leclerc's first encounter was
with Pierre Gasly in the opening laps. The Monegasque driver pushed
the Alpine wide and onto the grass, dropping the one-time grand
prix winner from ninth to P14 as the Ferrari charged through. The
second was an uncompromising defence on Albon in the closing
stages, leaving the Williams to take to the gravel trap, falling
behind Hamilton in the process. After that was noted by race
control and subsequently due to be investigated by the stewards,
Ferrari told Leclerc to let the Thai driver through. "I took
risks," he reflected. "I don't think that with Pierre Gasly, I was
particularly at fault or over the limit. It was just a racing
incident in the way it was. "With Alex, it was very much on the
limit, for sure. I thought that in the way the rules are written, I
was right on the limit of those rules. "I've got to check the
images again, but I don't regret anything I've done. [The race] was
all about giving it all. I knew from the moment that I didn't take
the pit stop on the second safety car that it was going to be a
very difficult race."
