Many Formula 1 fans had to think back to qualifying in Monaco in 2006 when Charles Leclerc parked his Ferrari car in the wall at the end of qualifying. A decade and a half ago, Formula 1 legend Michael Schumacher did something similar when, at the end of qualifying in the principality, he stopped his car in the Rascasse corner, causing yellow flags to all his competitors behind him and taking him pole position.
Leclerc’s crash did not seem to have the same intention, but the consequences were comparable. In the IndyCar they have at least a solution for drivers such as Schumacher and Leclerc, whether or not they have deliberately claimed pole that way. If a driver causes a red flag there, the two fastest laps of that driver will be removed from that session, even if they had already been set before.
In conversation with, among others RacingNews365 the top three of qualifying, Leclerc himself, Max Verstappen and Valtteri Bottas, are asked whether Formula 1 should come up with a similar rule. In any case, the Dutchman does not think so. “There is a difference between hitting the wall after a mistake and making a mistake on purpose.”
“If Charles had parked his car with a broken front wing, it would have been a different story. However, he hit the wall and then ended up in the wall in which I also ended twice”, the experience expert refers to 2016 and 2018 , when he crashed in exactly the same place as Leclerc. “So it’s just unfortunate,” he said.
Of course it is a shame how things turned out, Verstappen agrees. “I’m disappointed that I couldn’t take a shot at pole, but that’s how life goes sometimes. Sometimes it doesn’t work, so be it. I don’t think that Charles’ other time should have been taken away or the future. “Rules need to be changed. That wouldn’t be fair, because we are all doing our very best. It’s not easy here in Monaco, especially at the limit. It’s easy to make a mistake.”
Leclerc – not entirely illogical – also disagrees with the statement. “I understand what Max just said. If I had done it on purpose, I would have hit the wall a little less hard, but of course this was not on purpose. I was pushing the limit. For now I am mainly concerned about the car, I hope it goes well. It doesn’t look very good … “
“Like Max said, on a street circuit like here, where we look for the limits, mistakes are made there. It’s a whole different story if it happens on purpose, but I think it is clear that this was not the case here.” , said Leclerc, who finally also receives support from Mercedes competitor Bottas. “The rules are fine, so be it. Sometimes things happen that you have no control over. Sometimes you’re lucky, sometimes not, that’s just the way it goes.”
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