Ferrari driver Charles Leclerc has been slammed by Sky Sports presenters and former Formula 1 drivers Martin Brundle and Jenson Button after the Monegasque nearly caused a costly collision at his home race.
With McLaren’s Lando Norris on a flying lap, the young driver had to take evasive action to avoid smashing into the back of Charles Leclerc’s car, as the Ferrari blocked his way in the tricky tunnel section of the Monaco circuit.
The incident was heavily criticised at the time and in post-qualifying analysis by Brundle and Button who accused Leclerc of having violated a gentleman’s “agreement” between drivers to not impede flying laps.
“Your eyes take a while to react and as you can see Lando only knows Charles is in front when his lights start flashing on the back of his car. It’s a dangerous place and we always had this agreement that you do not drive slowly through the tunnel,” Button said.
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“I don’t think that grid drop is a curse at all. I think it’s really well deserved by driver and team for dawdling through the tunnel,” Brundle said.
“They were busy discussing where they were on the grid and who was around them rather than thinking of other drivers getting their laps in. They need to sort that out.”
READ: Martin Brundle forced to apologise after incident involving Red Bull staff member
Leclerc was penalised by the stewards after the race, receiving a three place grid drop for his actions that cost him a shot at a podium but the incident arguable cost McLaren even more, as the Papaya outfit fights for key points in the midfield battle.
Despite both cars finishing in the points, McLaren fell behind Alpine, dropping to P6 of the Constructors’ after Esteban Ocon secured a podium finish around the iconic street circuit.
Ferrari’s poor starting position in Monaco allowed Mercedes to focus on closing the gap to Aston Martin, with the gap between the Silver Arrows in P3 and Aston Martin in P2 just one point going into Barcelona.