Charles Leclerc crashes on formation lap in dramatic start to Brazilian Grand Prix

Leclerc was meant to start alongside Max Verstappen on the front row but crashed his Ferrari on his way to the grid

Formula 1 Correspondent

Sunday 05 November 2023 21:57 GMT

Charles Leclerc crashed his Ferrari on the formation lap in Brazil (F1)

Charles Leclerc crashed out of the Brazilian Grand Prix before the race even started on Sunday.

The Ferrari car, starting second on the grid alongside the eventual winner of the race Max Verstappen, had a hydraulics failure on the formation lap.

Leclerc’s car smashed into the wall, with his power steering failing, in a dramatic start to the proceedings at Interlagos.

“I lost the hydraulics, why am I so unlucky,” he said on team radio.

A red flag after the first lap of the race saw Leclerc try to recover his Ferrari and rejoin the race, but to no avail.

“When I lost the steering wheel... I know what it is, I cannot go into too much detail,” Leclerc said afterwards.

“I spun and hit the wall, I couldn’t do anything.”

It is not the first time Leclerc has not started a race on the front row: in 2021, he qualified on pole for his home race in Monaco.

But a drive shaft issue meant his Ferrari car could not start the race.

It was a bad day for Ferrari, with Leclerc’s team-mate Carlos Sainz only finishing sixth.

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