Charles Leclerc won the 2017 F2 Championship by a 72 point margin, but faced a huge challenge from Alex Albon at the season finale.
Leclerc and Albon are both established F1 stars today. The former in fact, is the main protagonist for this year’s World Championship. The Monegasque is hoping to become Ferrari’s first Champion since 2007.
Albon on the other hand, returned to F1 after a year’s break. He was dropped by Red Bull after 2020, but landed himself a seat at Williams, where he replaced George Russell.
Ferrari is competing for the Title whereas the Williams is struggling on the wrong end of the grid. Regardless, both Albon and Leclerc and immensely talented drivers, who’ve had impressive junior careers.
Back during the 2017 Formula 2 Championship, the two were involved in an intense last lap battle at the season finale in Abu Dhabi. Albon wasn’t in the mix for the Title that year, but Leclerc was dominant throughout.
Leclerc emerged as the winner in that duel, but it wasn’t without a bit of controversy from his end.
Also read: “It would be a shame”– Charles Leclerc doesn’t want Monaco to be sacrificed to add more US races
Did Charles Leclerc deserve a penalty for making contact with Albon?
When the 22nd and final lap of the race started, Albon was ahead of Leclerc by the finest of margins. This race was back in 2017, when the layout of the Yas Marina Circuit made it difficult for drivers to overtake.
The only two realistic chances for Leclerc to get past Albon was at turn seven and eight. When they approached the former, Leclerc went up the inside of Albon, in spite of the fact that there wasn’t much of a gap.
This led to the now Ferrari driver making contact with his opponent, compromising his exit down the straight. Leclerc who got better traction, overtook Albon and maintained his position when they crossed turn eight. He held on, and got his seventh win of the season thereafter.
It’s been a long time since that race took place. However, several fans still believe that what was spectacular from a viewer’s point of view, was actually ‘dirty driving’ from Leclerc.
Leclerc took P1 in the F2 Championships that year. The following year, he joined Sauber in F1, and immediately took the sport by storm, showing everyone how good he is. Albon meanwhile, finished P3 in the 2018 F2 Championship, before making his jump to F1.
