Italian driver Charles Leclerc’s Italian Grand Prix ended in heartbreak after a huge crash at Monza. The Ferrari driver was fighting with Oscar Piastri on the second lap when he suddenly lost control of his car at the fast Parabolica corner. Leclerc’s Ferrari spun across the track and hit the barriers heavily, bringing his race to an early end. He was able to get out of the car himself and was later checked at the medical centre.
The crash was especially painful for Leclerc because this was Ferrari’s home race, with thousands of fans watching from the stands. The impact damaged the tyre barriers badly enough for officials to stop the race and bring out the red flag while repairs were made. It came after a difficult opening lap for Ferrari too, with Lewis Hamilton being forced off the track during a battle with his teammate. Leclerc was eventually cleared after medical checks, although he said he needed a few more checks after experiencing some vision issues.
“Way too close”: Charles Leclerc explains Lewis Hamilton battle before Monza crash
Charles Leclerc has explained what happened during his dramatic exit from the Italian Grand Prix at Monza, after his race ended in the barriers on the second lap. Before the crash, Leclerc had also been involved in a very close battle with Ferrari teammate Lewis Hamilton at the start. Speaking about the incident, Leclerc said, “With Lewis it was a way too close into Turn 1 and unfortunately in Turn 2 – I don’t know if we had contact or whatsoever. I was quite a lot on the inside curve and tried to make the corner, which I didn’t do it tight enough, and then I obviously only saw in the mirrors what happened which is never what you want between two cars, between two cars of the same team.”
Leclerc then spoke about the crash itself and admitted that something felt unusual with the car before he lost control. “Then for the crash itself, I went on throttle – on the first lap it felt kind of weird, I had to go back off and on throttle. On that second lap, I tried to do the same thing but, I don’t know, it just felt a little bit weird, so we’ll look into it.” His crash brought out the red flag and ended his home race early. Leclerc was able to walk away from the accident and was later cleared after a medical check.
