Charles Leclerc (Scuderia Ferrari) was able to make pole position Monaco GP after recording the fastest time at the start of the third qualifier (Q3), last Saturday (22/5/2021).
However, the accident experienced by the home racer when he exited the Swimming Pool area just moments before the 12 minutes of Q3 was finished, making the other drivers unable to improve the lap time when doing final runs in Q3.
Max Verstappen (Red Bull Racing-Honda) and Valtteri Bottas (Mercedes-AMG Petronas F1) may be a few riders who are disappointed because Leclerc made a red flag (red flag) appear. However, both of them felt that F1 did not need to change the regulations regarding this issue.
Even so, Mercedes Principal Toto Wolff thought it would be better if F1 started bringing up new ideas to avoid “confusing” situations such as those that occurred after the red flag appeared due to the Leclerc accident.
When Autosport / Motorsport.com touched on whether F1 would consider bringing up alternative rules in the future, FIA Race Director Michael Masi said it would bring this issue (Leclerc) into routine discussion.
“When an incident arises, the FIA, Formula 1 and teams will definitely look at it thoroughly and then consider a solution,” said Masi.
“I know the rules at IndyCar, which also apply to several FIA racing series and domestic championships in the world. We will look at the case with all stakeholders to determine whether the solution is suitable or not. “
The Leclerc accident was then compared with similar incidents in Monaco in 2006 and 2014, when it was held pole made a mistake on the last lap which prevented the racer behind him trying to improve the lap time.
In 2006, Michael Schumacher was found guilty of deliberately parking his car on La Rascasse to prevent Fernando Alonso from scoring better than him. As a result, Schumacher was punished to start from the most distended position.
Meanwhile, Nico Rosberg’s controversial maneuvers at the Mirabeau at the 2014 Monaco Grand Prix went unpunished.
Charles Leclerc insisted he was too smart to deliberately create accidents in order to maintain lap time. Moreover, accidents like that also risk the car being badly damaged.
Leclerc itself could not start at the Monaco GP last Sunday (23/5/2021), due to technical problems. However, Ferrari denied that the damage was caused by an accident in Q3 the day before.
Later it was revealed that the FIA had investigated the Leclerc accident. The results of telemetry checks, re-recordings, radio talks, and live interviews with Leclerc and his team crew, the Monaco racer had indeed made a mistake.
Masi revealed that race control jump straight into what happened and find out if it was clear enough that Leclerc had made a mistake at Turn 15.
“After looking at the reruns, analyzing the data and listening to the team’s communications, I’m not sure the racer will intentionally damage the car, under any circumstances. That’s because of the various consequences they might be able to bear because of the incident, “said Masi.
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