
Charles Leclerc curses his luck after Lewis Hamilton’s Dutch GP crash
Lewis Hamilton crashed out of the Dutch Grand Prix on Sunday just as the pit-stop window opened, with consequences that affected his teammate Charles Leclerc. The seven-time world champion lost control of his Ferrari at the banked turn three, a section where drivers usually run close to the wall to carry maximum speed. The sudden snap sent the Briton into the barriers. Although the impact occurred at relatively low speed, it was enough to damage the front corner of his SF-25 and end his race. Up until that point, he had maintained seventh place following the start phase.
Charles Leclerc had pitted just moments before Hamilton’s accident. The deployment of the safety car was necessary to recover the stricken Ferrari, but it came at the worst possible moment for the Monegasque driver. His early pit stop temporarily dropped him to ninth place, disrupting his race strategy.
Leclerc vents frustration over Lewis Hamilton crash
Leclerc had made an impressive start, overtaking George Russell’s Mercedes to move into fifth place and chasing midfield outlier Isack Hadjar. Frustration boiled over in an unbroadcast radio message when the safety car shuffled the field: “No! F—— hell! We are so f—— unlucky! Unbelievable!” His competitors took advantage of the safety car period, but Charles Leclerc only lost a single position, falling behind George Russell.
Later in the race, during a virtual safety car phase, Leclerc executed an aggressive move to reclaim positions. He dipped his wheels into the gravel to overtake Russell at the penultimate corner, a maneuver that is set to be investigated after the race. However, it ultimately did not cost him any points, as a collision with Kimi Antonelli’s Mercedes on lap 53 ended his afternoon prematurely.
Lewis Hamilton’s perspective before the crash
Meanwhile, on the other side of the garage, Lewis Hamilton had been reporting tire wear in the laps leading up to his accident. He indicated that the rear tires were “definitely wearing quite a lot,” a condition that can induce oversteer. Hamilton had also requested Ferrari attempt an undercut on George Russell, acknowledging the difficulty of overtaking on-track at Zandvoort.
Jacques Villeneuve observed that the Briton seemed much more positive than Leclerc following qualifying, but the seven-time world champion appeared dejected as he walked away from his damaged car on Sunday. Multiple spins during practice sessions had hinted at the SF-25’s instability, and Hamilton’s Dutch GP retirement echoes a similar incident last year at the United States Grand Prix, when a driver error also ended his race.






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