Scuderia Ferrari Monegasque driver Charles Leclerc admited that he was “very lucky” to escape without serious damage after making contact with the Red Bull Racing car of Sergio Perez at the first restart in the 2021 Saudi Arabian Grand Prix on Sunday..
The first Formula 1 Grand Prix at the Jeddah Corniche circuit included two red flags, the second of which was caused by Charles Leclerc and Sergio Perez. On the restart following the stoppage for Mick Schumacher’s crash, the Red Bull and Scuderia Ferrari drivers ran side-by-side through the exit of Turn 2 with the Red Bull slightly ahead as they raced towards Turn 3.
The two made contact, Charles Leclerc clipping Sergio Perez’s rear tyre and sending the Red Bull driver into the wall. George Russell and Nikita Mazepin were caught up in the chaos behind them:
“There just wasn’t enough room for everyone given how the corner was” – Serg Perez explained at the end of the race – “I ended up tangling with Charles, he clipped my rear tyre with his front right tyre. It was a bad moment for everyone but just a very unlucky one.”
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In sharp contrast, Charles Leclerc concedes he was “lucky” to get out of it having only lost a few places: “I was on the left and had not enough space, and I don’t think he saw me. I was very lucky to get out of it without big damage.” – the Monegasque driver explained.
The Ferrari driver raced his way to seventh place on the day, his team-mate Carlos Sainz eight.
But despite the fact that Scuderia Ferrari were not able to wrap up third place in the Constructors’ Championship, with McLaren pulling back just one point, the Maranello team head to the Abu Dhabi Grand prix with a solid 38.5 points up on their Woking rivals.
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