Charles Leclerc’s Miami Grand Prix is quickly turning into one of damage limitation, quite literally, after the Monegasque crashed for the second time this weekend but this time in the closing minutes of Q3.
After showing great pace in Q2 which saw him labelled as a potential front row candidate, the 25-year-old made a huge driver error yet again at Turn 8, the same corner he crashed at during Free Practice 2 on Friday.
Whilst on Friday, Leclerc went into the wall head-on, with just over 1:30 in Q3 remaining he went into the wall rear-first, potentially damaging his gearbox and floor, which has been upgraded for this weekend.
He was clearly pushing beyond the limit on his final lap in Q3, resulting in him losing control of the rear of his car, before colliding with the barrier.
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Thankfully, the impact itself didn’t look too big; however, the fact he went into the barrier rear-first will likely concern Ferrari.
Should his car not require work done to it outside parc ferme regulations then he will start Sunday’s race from seventh on the grid, meaning he’ll have plenty of work to do at the Miami International Autodrome.
It was certainly yet another unnecessary mistake by the Ferrari driver, though, who is starting to make a habit of silly errors.
This weekend alone, Leclerc has already crashed at Turn 8 twice, whilst he suffered a similar incident whilst leading the French Grand Prix last season.
His costly errors are seemingly starting to get the attention of his fans as well, who recognise that Leclerc pushing it to the absolute limit and occasionally beyond it, is what “makes Leclerc Leclerc”.
@unathi_mbatha wrote on Twitter: “This is what makes Leclerc LECLERC. He plays with the limit and most of the time he produces quality, that we praise him for, the only catch is that, these moments will happen with him. I’ve accepted that.”
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Others, like @F1Jacko, mentioned how the Monegasque needs to “learn to reign it in”: “Charles needs to learn to reign it in a bit, there’s no doubt over 1 lap he’s the fastest on the grid but stuff like that just shows that he isn’t ready to win a title especially when it’s his 5 year with the team.”
@sarahh5467 added: “Charles is always searching for a p1 in a way possible but he’s pushing far beyond the limit and unfortunately this car doesn’t handle it.”
@aleksan30409461 stated that Leclerc’s recent errors were “not Ferrari standard”: “Too many mistakes every weekend… That is not Ferrari standard.”