Francesco Cigarini, the mechanic who suffered a broken leg when he was ran over by Kimi Raikkonen at last year’s Bahrain Grand Prix, returned to work with Ferrari ahead of Formula 1’s pre-season testing at the Circuit de Catalunya in Barcelona and was back in the Maranello team’s garage for the Bahrain Grand Prix, a race which Ferrari dominated in the first half, before an engine issue forced Charles Leclerc to settle just for third place.
Last year, Francesco Cigarini was injured when Raikkonen was released before all four tyres were fitted correctly, instantly ending the Finn’s race, although it was a more costly incident for the Italian mechanic. He was stood in front of Kimi Raikkonen’s rear tyre when he suddenly set off, leaving him helpless. Pit-stop safety was tightened up by many teams as a result of the incident. Francesco returned at the Bahrain International Circuit hoping for a win to cancel the unfortunate memories for last season, but sadly was witness to Ferrari’s reliability problem which left Charles Leclerc helpless against Mercedes in the final stages of the race:
“Yesterday I wanted to close the circle. Back in Bahrain, with a race weekend, I found myself staring at the place where the accident happened, a lot of people happy to see me back in Bahrain in good condition, some ghosts in my head, flashbacks, a great qualy and a race starting in a very good way…I really wanted to close the circle with a victory or something to be proud of. I close it with the hands on my face, same of the last year. That is it, motorsport is dangerous and is something unpredictable. Thanks to the people who given me strength and smiles, I appreciate it a lot.” – Francesco Cigarini posted on social media.
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