Second at the Belgian Grand Prix, Charles Leclerc reflected on his spectacular contact with Oscar Piastri. The Ferrari driver acknowledges that the incident could have had serious consequences.
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Charles Leclerc narrowly avoided disaster at the Belgian Grand Prix. In the heat of battle with Oscar Piastri on the eighth lap, the Ferrari driver made contact with the McLaren in the fast sequence of the Combes.
Although both cars were able to continue their race despite debris scattered on the track, the Monegasque admits that the incident came very close to turning into a tragedy.
“It was way too close. Fortunately, it had no consequences for either his race or mine.”
The stewards reviewed the maneuver after the race but ultimately decided not to take any action against Leclerc.
A Ferrari more competitive than expected
Beyond this episode, the Scuderia driver mainly highlights the performance shown by Ferrari at Spa-Francorchamps.
While the team expected to struggle on a circuit theoretically unfavorable to the SF-26, Leclerc believes the progress made is encouraging.
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“On Thursday, we thought we were much further behind, maybe four or five tenths. In qualifying, that was indeed the case, but in the race we were closer than expected. So it’s a positive result.”
Thanks to a perfectly executed strategy under the Virtual Safety Car, Leclerc even found himself leading the race for several laps before yielding to Kimi Antonelli.
Ferrari confirms its progress
The Monegasque also points out that Ferrari has just achieved two excellent results on circuits that did not particularly suit the characteristics of its car.
After his victory at Silverstone, he finished second in Belgium, a record he considers very encouraging for the rest of the season.
“On two circuits that, on paper, did not particularly suit our car, we won and then finished second. There was a bit of luck, of course, but the team did a very good job and we scored big points.”
Despite the controversy surrounding his duel with Oscar Piastri, Leclerc therefore prefers to focus on Ferrari’s progress and a new podium that confirms the Scuderia’s rise in the fight against Mercedes and Red Bull.
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