Charles Leclerc pushed himself far beyond the limits of his SF-25 to place it in third position in qualifying for the Brazilian GP, but his efforts were short-lived. The Monegasque driver became the victim of a collision involving Oscar Piastri and Andrea Kimi Antonelli at the Safety Car restart: the first dived to the inside of Turn 1, while the second closed too much as he searched for the apex. The McLaren struck the left rear of the Mercedes, which lost control and slammed into the Ferrari running on the outside. The impact ripped the tyre off car number 16 and also broke the suspension.
For the Maranello driver, there was nothing to do except accept retirement. It was yet another blow of bad luck, which seems to have a strong preference for the Monegasque. “Charles Leclerc will get married in Lourdes, he needs luck. And let’s hope Hamilton doesn’t drive the car, otherwise he arrives late,” Leo Turrini joked on Race Anatomy, trying to find some irony in a tragicomic situation.
For the Scuderia, this is the second double DNF of the year after Zandvoort, and the points lost weigh heavily in the championship fight. At the moment, the team is fourth, even behind Red Bull carried only by Max Verstappen. “These are things that happen, racing is like this, you have to factor in two DNFs,” engineer Mazzola added. “Ferrari was the spectator of something for which it cannot be blamed, but the real problem is that in terms of gaps on track we are almost like Tsunoda.”
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