All heart, zero points
The image of Charles Leclerc sitting in the runoff area reflecting after an incident for which he was blameless, which ended his Dutch Grand Prix, perfectly captures the frustration of the Monegasque driver during this difficult weekend. After qualifying sixth, Leclerc, as usual, started the race with determination, executing an impressive maneuver to overtake George Russell and closing in on Isack Hadjar.
Misfortune then intervened when Lewis Hamilton’s accident triggered a Safety Car just after Charles Leclerc’s pit stop, causing him to lose track position to Russell. Finding himself back in sixth, the Monegasque produced a striking overtaking move at the Curva 11 chicane on the English driver. However, this maneuver came under investigation (he will face the Race Direction after the Grand Prix) for being executed almost entirely off-track.
Following his second pit stop—during which he seemed to disagree with the team over timing—Leclerc, on lap 53, was taken out through no fault of his own by Andrea Kimi Antonelli, who collided with him while attempting an overly ambitious inside line at Curva 3.
Charles Leclerc’s analysis on Canal+
“Very clearly, I think Kimi tried to do something that wasn’t very realistic. Moving to the inside at that corner is possible, but with the exit speed, you can never maintain the position. He tried, but unfortunately… My impression is that he was quite wide and touched me, and that was the end. This weekend was hell, from FP1 to the race. Beyond that, the race itself went a bit better, but in terms of performance, driving was very complicated. You had to be ultra-aggressive, which I did with George at the start and a second time against him, because we were unlucky with the Safety Car. In any case, it doesn’t change anything.”
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