Charles Leclerc reflects on a topsy-turvy season: ‘Max’s tear-off getting stuck in my brakes sums up my season’
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Charles Leclerc
Charles Leclerc’s season began with much promise. His first win since Monza 2019, and Ferrari’s first win (and 1-2) since Singapore of that year. Till Australia, he was still on a high, but the fall came, and it came rather quickly. In Imola, while chasing down Sergio Perez, he made a mistake and spun. He needed to replace a front wing and so dove into the pits, eventually finishing sixth.
Since that race, things have rarely gone smoothly for the Monegasque. In Spain, he was 28 seconds in the lead when engine issues lead to him retiring from the Grand Prix. In Monaco, Ferrari made strategic errors, and he went from pole position to fourth place. In Azerbaijan, there were more engine issues in store.
There was Silverstone, Hungary, and Belgium is just the latest in a long line. In Belgium, in the chaos of the race, Max Verstappen got dirt on his visor tear-off. He ‘tore’ that off, and that tear-off got stuck in Charles Leclerc’s brakes, which meant he would have to pit. A burnt sensor from that problem also resulted in him getting a 5-second penalty, for speeding 1km/hr above the pit limit.
A string of misfortunes for Charles Leclerc
Safe to say, Charles Leclerc’s fortunes have been rather barren. While he has definitely made mistakes, as in Imola or France, often it has been circumstances out of his control which have derailed his race. In general, Ferrari have not really had a clean race or a race free from missteps since perhaps Miami.
Remarking on his incredibly poor luck, Leclerc said: “Max’s tear-off getting stuck in my brakes last weekend sums up our season. In general, we haven’t had the best of luck.”
The championship has rather run away from him, and there are not many worlds in which Leclerc can win the championship from here on out. He is 98 points behind Max Verstappen, having been at one stage 46 points up, and there are only 8 races to go. At this point, he is really just playing for second place and getting the most victories he possibly can.
Zandvoort is Max Verstappen’s home race. Austria was Red Bull’s home race, and Imola and Monaco were Ferrari and Leclerc’s home races. Ferrari won in Austria, while Red Bull triumphed on the other two occasions. Will the trend of rivals ruining the other’s home race party continues? And perhaps even more importantly, will this trend carry over into Monza, next weekend? We shall see.
Also Read: “Beautiful day!” Charles Leclerc sarcastically sums up his day out at the Belgian GP
Also Read: FIA clarify Charles Leclerc’s ‘loophole’ penalty decision
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Aniket Tripathi
(1002 Articles Published)