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Home F1

‘A bit too far’: Leclerc admits overstepping in Piastri battle

Charles Leclerc has conceded he pushed his defence too far during his Belgian Grand Prix clash with Oscar Piastri.

Ben Waterworth
Ben Waterworth
24 Jul 2026
Ben Waterworth
//
24 Jul 2026
// F1
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‘A bit too far’: Leclerc admits overstepping in Piastri battle
Oscar Piastri clashes with Charles Leclerc during the Belgian GP. Image: XPB Images

The pair made contact while fighting over third place at Les Combes on Lap 8, with Leclerc moving across as Piastri attempted to challenge around the outside.

Piastri was forced onto the edge of the circuit before the cars touched wheels at the beginning of the braking zone, causing pieces to break away from the McLaren and leaving it with floor damage.

The stewards investigated the incident but took no further action after determining Piastri was not sufficiently alongside to complete the move and Leclerc had not deliberately forced him off the track.

However, speaking ahead of the Hungarian Grand Prix, Leclerc acknowledged he had crossed the line while attempting to leave his rival as little room as possible.

“I kind of agree with Oscar, I think,” Leclerc told reporters in Budapest.

“At the end of the day, my view in the car is that I try to push things to the limit. With Oscar, it was a bit on the other side, so that’s probably not the way I want to race all the time.

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“It’s also risky for me at the end of the day. You are always trying to leave the smallest place available. That was maybe a bit too far… Sketchy.”

 

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Piastri had expressed his frustration following the race after believing he had been left with nowhere to go during the incident.

Although the Australian stopped short of demanding a sporting penalty, he felt Leclerc should have at least received a black-and-white flag for the move.

“From where I was at, I was on the white line and got squeezed,” Piastri said at Spa.

“I think we were firstly very lucky not to have a bigger crash because, you know, we touched wheels in the start of the braking zone basically.

“But I don’t really know where I was supposed to go, so the fact that was no… I’m not saying it needed to be a penalty necessarily, but at least a black-and-white flag or something like that, because if we think that that’s fine.

“I mean, it’s one thing having touches like that, but even just the incentive of knowing that you can leave everyone the absolute bare minimum space and get away with it, that’s not the nicest place to be, I don’t think.”

The stewards ruled Leclerc had followed the normal racing line by moving slightly left to open the corner and did not intentionally crowd Piastri beyond the edge of the circuit.

“On the approach to Turn 5, Car 81 moved to overtake Car 16 on the outside,” the stewards’ report read. “Car 81 had some overlap on Car 16 but the front axle of Car 81 was not ahead of the front axle of Car 16 and there was no possibility of Car 81 completing an overtake from that position.

“In the stewards’ determination, Car 16 did not deliberately crowd Car 81 off the edge of the track. Car 16 followed the racing line before the entry to Turn 5 by moving slightly to the left to open up for Turn 5 and side to side contact occurred between the two cars.

“In the circumstances, the stewards determined to take no further action.”

Piastri continued after the contact but said the damage made his McLaren increasingly difficult to manage as he eventually finished fifth, while Leclerc went on to finish second behind Kimi Antonelli.

2026 F1 Hungarian Grand Prix – Schedule, how to watch, TV times & more

Tags: belgian gpcharles leclerchungarian gposcar piastri

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