Ferrari F1 star makes 'playing with the rules' admission at Imola Grand Prix

Charles Leclerc, Lewis Hamilton, Ferrari, Bahrain, 2025 — Photo: © IMAGO

Imola Grand Prix

Ferrari star makes 'playing with the rules' admission at Imola Grand Prix

Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc finished fourth and sixth respectively for the Scuderia on Sunday

Kevin McKenna

Tuesday 20 May 2025 10:59 Updated: 11:10

A Ferrari star has admitted 'playing with the rules' during last weekend's Imola Grand Prix.

Lewis Hamilton came home fourth for the Scuderia in front of the tifosi - his best result since making the off-season switch from Mercedes - while team-mate Charles Leclerc ended the day down in sixth spot.

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It could have been even better for the Monegasque driver had it not been for a controversial team orders call which cost him fifth place to Alex Albon.

The instruction came after the Williams man was forced to take evasive action and skid across the gravel having been afforded little room by Leclerc as he defended his position, with Ferrari opting to be proactive in handing the place back rather than risking potential ramifications courtesy of the race stewards further down the line.

Leclerc bullish over Imola incident

Leclerc believed he was in the right when speaking to media post-race, but couldn't be certain until he watched the footage back.

"It’s true, we all have the rules in our heads and we always try to play with them," he said.

"Which is what I was trying to do today. Sometimes on those rules you speak about a centimetre is enough to be within the rules or without the rules.

"Judging it at 250 [KPH] is a bit tricky. I thought I was just in. Obviously, from outside it doesn’t look so nice because there’s one car in the gravel.

"But I’ll look back at it and I’m always very honest with myself. If I think that I’ve done a mistake, I’ll say it to Alex. But for now, I don’t think I did."

While it was yet another weekend in which neither Ferrari driver stood on the podium, there were signs of encouragement for both Leclerc and Hamilton, who each produced fine performances to fight back from 11th and 12th on the grid respectively and finish in the points.

Next up is a trip to Leclerc's home race in Monaco, where last season, he celebrated an emotional victory at the famous street circuit.