Charles Leclerc (Ferrari) after crash with Oscar Piastri: belated admission

It happened as it always does when two Formula 1 drivers are vying for the same patch of tarmac and neither is willing to give way: on lap eight of the Belgian Grand Prix, McLaren’s Oscar Piastri and Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc battled for third place, resulting in a collision and flying debris.

Both were able to continue; Leclerc finished second behind Kimi Antonelli, whilst Piastri limped his McLaren home in fifth place, the car so badly damaged that, according to his team, he was losing between two and three tenths of a second per lap.

Surprisingly, the race stewards – that is, the quartet of race officials – came to the conclusion that this incident did not warrant a penalty. This raised a few eyebrows in the paddock.

In the Hungaroring paddock, Leclerc made a confession – a little late for Piastri, but better late than never: “Looking back, I have to admit – I went too far. That was beyond the limit, and I don’t actually want to race like that.”

Piastri says: “My left-hand wheels were already on the white line, and then he pushed me even further out. I’m lucky the wheels of our cars didn’t get caught up; otherwise there would have been a massive crash. I don’t know what else I could have done. I can’t exactly make myself vanish into thin air.”

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When asked about Oscar’s comments, Leclerc admitted sheepishly: “He’s right. That was too much of a risk. You always want to give your opponent as little room as possible, but this time my move was questionable.”