Charles Leclerc’s retirement from the Italian GP this Sunday (6) left Ferrari without one of its cars in its home race. After starting in fourth position and fighting for the top spots, the Monegasque lost control of the SF-26 on the second lap and crashed hard into the barriers at the Alboreto corner, better known as Parabolica.
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According to Frederic Vasseur, Ferrari’s team principal, Leclerc was side by side with Oscar Piastri approaching the last corner when he ended up going onto the dirty side of the track. Contact with this part of the asphalt was enough to make the car lose control.
“We knew this race would be challenging, especially in terms of our top speed, and that made it difficult for Lewis to fight and overtake the cars around him. Regarding Charles, on the second lap he was side by side with Oscar (Piastri) entering the last corner and went slightly onto the dirty side of the track, which was enough for him to lose the car and crash into the barriers. It was a heavy impact, so the most important thing is that Charles is okay.”
The accident caused the red flag, but Leclerc was not injured. The driver himself preferred to leave the episode behind and has already turned his focus to the next stage of the season: “This is not how we wanted our weekend to end and we have to turn the page and look to Madrid next week.
A huge thank you to all our tifosi who supported us here at our home race. We will make sure to come back stronger.”
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For Vasseur, the result was below what Ferrari expected given the support received from Italian fans throughout the weekend. The team now focuses its efforts on the new Madrid circuit, the next stop of the championship.
“Of course, we are disappointed not to have been able to give our tifosi the result we wanted, after the incredible energy and support they showed us throughout the weekend. I am very happy for Kimi (Antonelli): this is a very important moment for him, and he deserves it. Our focus now immediately turns to next weekend and the new Madrid circuit.”
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