Have Charles Leclerc’s crash-to-pole scenarios raised a serious issue in the F1 qualifying rulebook?
Charles Leclerc has 19 pole positions in his Formula 1 career.
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Charles Leclerc. Image via Twitter.
Charles Leclerc has become a standout driver for Scuderia Ferrari since he joined the Italian squad in 2019. He has five wins and 25 podiums to his name all while racing for the Maranello-based outfit. Leclerc has shown impressive consistency and skill on the track. He has also secured 19 pole positions. It makes him the third-most successful Ferrari driver in this regard. Leclerc has the longest contract with Ferrari. He is widely regarded as the next Ferrari world champion by the Tifosi.
Charles Leclerc has shown time and again that he has an amazing qualifying pace. He can extract everything out of his car on any given day. His 19 pole positions are a testament to this. But there are some bawls thrown at him that he gets away with pole positions by bringing out red flags or benefitting from them. The question is, does he intend on doing it?
Discover: Top 5 most dramatic moments from Azerbaijan GP
Charles Leclerc nabs pole positions despite crashing in qualifying (Monaco GP 2021)
In a thrilling qualifying session for the 2021 Monaco Grand Prix, Charles Leclerc of Ferrari clinched pole position. Though they lacked competitiveness compared to the top two teams, the SF21 proved to be the perfect fit for the twists and turns of Monte Carlo. Leclerc secured a provisional pole. But he crashed his car into the Swimming Pool chicane just seconds before the end of the session. This prevented his competitors from improving their time. Max Verstappen, who was on the hunt for the championship was affected by it. However, Leclerc was unable to start the race due to a driveshaft issue. Ultimately, Verstappen of Red Bull Racing emerged victorious in the race.
Charles Leclerc Azerbaijan GP 2023 Sprint Shootout
The 2023 Azerbaijan GP introduced a brand new weekend format called the Sprint Shootout. This included two qualifying sessions and two races. Charles Leclerc impressed everyone by taking pole position in the first qualifying session on Friday. He was two-tenths ahead of Max Verstappen in the faster Red Bull car. The Sprint session which took place on Saturday was named the Sprint Shootout. Drivers shot out of their garages to clock fast laps one after the other.
Leclerc held the provisional pole until the end of the third session. But then he made a slight error that sent him into the walls, bringing out yellow flags. Though this did not affect the Red Bull drivers, it did hamper Leclerc’s teammate’s progress. However, Leclerc maintained his pole position and quickly apologized to his team for the crash that affected his teammate.
Charles Leclerc benefits from red flags
Leclerc seems to have a knack for pole positions, particularly when it comes to red flags. He has four pole positions awarded to him due to red flags. Two of which were his own fault while the other two were due to the mistakes of others. In the 2021 Azerbaijan GP qualifying, Leclerc secured the pole position due to a late red flag caused by his teammate’s accident. However, it was not intentional as his teammate, Carlos Sainz was distracted by a stricken Alpha Tauri of Yuki Tsunoda in the barriers.
The other instance when Charles took pole position was at his home Grand Prix in Monaco 2022. Sergio Perez caused a late red flag due to a crash. Nonetheless, Leclerc had a fantastic session and was on a much faster lap. He would have secured the pole regardless of the crash. There were rumors that Perez later admitted to causing the crash intentionally to prevent Leclerc from out-qualifying him. But he eventually won the race.
A debate on whether the drivers will be allowed to retain lap times after crashing in qualifying
The debate over whether a driver should keep their lap time after crashing in qualifying has raged on for years. Charles Leclerc’s two pole positions due to red flags were not caused intentionally. His Monaco 2021 crash was thoroughly checked for any signs of deliberate action, but none were found. Despite this, some on social media compared his incidents to Michael Schumacher‘s controversial maneuver. In the 2006 Monaco qualifying session, Schumacher was relegated from pole position for deliberately parking his car at Rascasse. It was to deny his rival Fernando Alonso a chance at pole position.
The 2014 qualifying session was also controversial. Nico Rosberg denied his teammate and championship rival Lewis Hamilton a chance at pole by locking up into turn 5. Hamilton was improving on his lap, and the incident stirred debate both on social media and with the stewards. In contrast, Charles’ mistake in qualifying for his home grand prix resulted in a DNF. It was due to a mechanical issue. However, it was not penalized by the stewards.
As the F1 community continues to grapple with this issue, it is clear that the consequences of each incident can vary widely. A thorough assessment of all factors must be made before any decision is reached. They need to be stringent with deleting the lap times if there is any foul play.
F1 needs to take a leaf from Indycar rules on red flags in qualifying
Crashing in qualifying can be a common mishap in any sport. It causes a ripple effect on drivers attempting to improve their lap times. To rectify this issue, Indycar has a regulation that penalizes drivers for such incidents. They delete the drivers’ lap times. Article 8.3.9 specifies that “If a car causes a red condition in any segment, the car’s best two timed laps of the segment shall be disallowed, the car may not continue in the segment, and the car shall not advance to the next segment.”
If applied in F1, Charles Leclerc, Nico Rosberg and possibly other drivers would have lost their pole positions and their grid spots. F1 must consider this rule. They should determine whether it is justifiable to allow drivers to retain their qualifying lap times, despite crashing during the sessions.
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Rohit Bhaskar
(727 Articles Published)