Charles Leclerc, Formula 1’s first Monegasque driver, is said to be cursed at his home track and this weekend, he had yet another unfortunate incident. At the 2022 Monaco Historic Grand Prix, while on a parade lap, he lost the back end of a 1972 Ferrari 312B3 and crashed into the barrier at La Rascasse.
Although he was technically doing a parade lap during the event, he was driving the car at a reasonable pace on the tight street circuit. Going into the corner, he started to slow down before the rear of the car suddenly let go and he went wing-first into the barriers.
Fortunately, the accident doesn’t appear to have injured Leclerc, who is the current points leader in the Formula 1 drivers’ championship. In footage published by the Goodwood Road & Racing YouTube channel, the commentators mentioned that the corner was covered in oil/oil absorbent from previous accidents.
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Leclerc, meanwhile, took on Twitter on Sunday and blamed the brakes. Indeed, in the video, immediately after the accident, he seems to be motioning that the brake pedal fell away from him with his hands. A little farther down the road, while speaking to Jackie Ickx who was driving another vintage Ferrari F1 car behind him, Leclerc can be heard explaining what happened in the accident.
“No, but I lost the brakes. I lost the brakes! I braked and at first, the pedal was hard, and then it fell to the floor,” Leclerc said in French. “I was lucky it happened there because if it had happened somewhere else, it wouldn’t have been good.”
The extent of the damage to the vehicle is unclear, though Leclerc was able to get it moving again. Although some white smoke could be seen from behind, it’s possible that was just tire smoke that resulted from the wing buckling forward and onto the tire.
Leclerc might not be the only one with a Monaco curse, as a different Ferrari 312B3 was crashed at this event last year by former F1 driver Jean Alesi, reports Motorsport. Both Ferrari and Leclerc will hope the curse is a thing of the past on May 29, when the modern F1 cars hit the famed street circuit for the Monaco Grand Prix.
When you thought you already had all the bad luck of the world in Monaco and you lose the brakes into rascasse with one of the most iconic historical Ferrari Formula 1 car. 🙃🔫
— Charles Leclerc (@Charles_Leclerc) May 15, 2022
