“He could easily have been forced to retire,” Mika Hakkinen terms Charles Leclerc ‘lucky’ in Imola error


“He could easily have been forced to retire,” Mika Hakkinen terms Charles Leclerc ‘lucky’ in Imola error

Mika Hakkinen

The 2022 season of Formula 1 has seen a story so far dictated by the Ferrari driver, Charles Leclerc and the reigning world champion, Max Verstappen. Charles Leclerc has shown an exceptional array of performances which has put him on top of the drivers championship in the season. Going into the 4th round of Formula 1 2022 season, Charles Leclerc had a 46 point lead over Max Verstappen. The Monegasque has stepped up in the season where he potentially has a world championship winning car.

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The weekend at Imola did not pan out well for the championship leader as he would have hoped. At the home race of Ferrari, Charles Leclerc had the expectations of Tifosi upon him to deliver a strong result. The Ferrari driver started the Grand Prix in 2nd place behind Verstappen after the result determined by the sprint race. The Grand Prix witnessed a poor start by Leclerc, which allowed Sergio Perez and Lando Norris to overtake him. Charles managed to take the position back from Norris. However, while attempting the overtake on Sergio Perez, the driver spun and ended up in the barriers.

Mika Hakkinen Terms Charles Leclerc ‘Lucky’

Charles Leclerc
Charles Leclerc

Charles Leclerc crossed the finish line in P6 after having the incident which found him in the barriers. Max Verstappen finishing in P1 in both Grand Prix and sprint race was able to salvage 34 points from the weekend and closed the gap to his rivals by just 27 points. Former McLaren driver, Mika Hakkinen opined on the incident, saying, “Charles still has a big lead in the world championship, but this error is a reminder that you cannot win every race. Sometimes settling for second or third is the right strategy.”

The weekend at Imola witnessed wet-dry conditions throughout the weekend and the race day. Thus, the drivers having to adapt to the conditions and respecting the limits. Mika Hakkinen further elaborated about the limits saying “In wet and dry conditions you have to be so careful because if you push too hard the car can bite you very quickly. Charles has admitted he was pushing and I can understand he was trying to put maximum pressure on Checo for second.”

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Former world champion concluded by saying “He was really lucky to be able to return to the pits and fit a new nose section to his car. He could easily have been forced to retire.” Charles Leclerc still finds himself at the top of the drivers championship. The Monegasque acknowledges his mistake and has said to learn from it going ahead to compete for the world title.

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