A major accident for Ferrari Formula 1 racer Charles Leclerc at the Italian Grand Prix triggered a red flag stoppage following only two laps of racing at Monza.
As the second lap drew to a close, Leclerc was holding onto fourth place against McLaren’s Oscar Piastri when the Ferrari pilot experienced sudden oversteer, losing control of the rear of his car while negotiating the high-speed Parabolica right-hand corner.
Leclerc went into a high-speed spin into the outer retaining walls, luckily escaping without injury. However, the initial safety car deployment quickly escalated to a complete red flag to allow track marshals to mend the damaged barriers.
This represented a massive disappointment for Ferrari at their home venue, following a difficult start where Leclerc ran teammate Lewis Hamilton wide on the opening lap. This incident dropped Hamilton down to eighth place, while Mercedes driver George Russell seized the race lead from unexpected pole-sitter Pierre Gasly in his Alpine.
Over the team radio, an angry Hamilton complained that “Charles pushed me off,” an encounter that stewards acknowledged but ultimately chose not to investigate.
Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc
Image credit: Alex Bierens de Haan / LAT Images via Getty Images
Competitors are scheduled to restart from a standing grid at 15:39 local time, and teams are permitted to swap tyres while the race is halted.
Russell is set to head the field for the restart, followed by Gasly, Max Verstappen, Franco Colapinto, and Piastri, while points leader Kimi Antonelli managed to climb to 12th place after a grid penalty forced him to start from 19th.
Due to the force of the crash, Leclerc was taken to the medical center for preventative examinations, where he was subsequently cleared and released with a clean bill of health.
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– The Team at Autosport.com
