Furious Charles Leclerc drops f-bomb after Alex Albon clash

Charles Leclerc fumed over team radio after being asked to let Alex Albon past following a late tangle at the F1 Emilia Romagna Grand Prix.

Leclerc was adjudged to have forced the Williams driver off track as he fought hard to retain P4 despite being on older tyres after failing to pit when a late Safety Car was deployed.

The Monegasque was instructed by Ferrari to allow Albon back past and ultimately had to settle with sixth, having also been passed by teammate Lewis Hamilton who benefitted from taking on fresh tyres.

After being told that he would have to let Albon through with the incident under investigation, Leclerc fumed over team 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?

Leclerc was still confused by the decision on his cool down lap back to the pits following the race.

"Now you explain to me the penalty or not?” Leclerc asked race engineer Bryan Bozzi.

“We are being investigated after the race,” came the response.

A puzzled Leclerc replied: “What do you mean, you told me to let him pass…"

The stewards explained Ferrari made the swap before they had reached a verdict in their investigation, meaning no further action was necessary. 

“The Stewards reviewed positioning/marshalling system data, video, timing and in-car video evidence and determined that it was alleged that Car 16 forced Car 23 off the track at the exit of Turn 2," they noted. 

“However, before we could conclude our investigations, Car 16 voluntarily gave the position back to mitigate the alleged breach. In the circumstances, we took no further action.”

Leclerc ‘cannot accept’ situation Ferrari are in

Leclerc had been enjoying a strong race having made his way well into the points from 11th on the grid before unfortunate timing of a Virtual Safety Car benefitted his rivals.

Leclerc explained he felt he had to take more risks in wheel-to-wheel combat to make up for Ferrari’s current pace deficit, something which continues to frustrate him.

"I was saying before, it's one of the races where you've got to race with the heart and put the elbows out a little bit,” he said.

"When it's like this you go very much on the limit, sometimes a little bit over.

"But when you are starting P11, as a driver I cannot accept the situation we are in.

"I took risks. I don't think with Pierre I was at fault or over the limit. It was a racing indecent.

"With Alex it was very much on the limit for sure."