‘I look like an idiot’: F1 star sprays team after chaotic race as Piastri misses podium
In his hometown event, Monaco-born Charles Leclerc ended his F1 race fuming at his Ferrari team after he crashed out while chasing a podium.
Kimi Antonelli managed to navigate all the chaos to win the Monaco Grand Prix, making it five wins in a row this season.
Charles Leclerc hits the wall. F1
Earlier, Aston Martin’s Lance Stroll had crashed at turn 19, the final corner, leading to a yellow flag on the course.
Then on the 66th lap, with Leclerc in third, he found himself in the same predicament in the same spot.
That led to another safety car and a red flag, which stopped the race.
Leclerc, who had earlier questioned why he entered the pits, refused to take responsibility.
“Honestly, I’m not even going to take the f---ing blame,” he said on the team radio.
“These f---ing brakes.”
During the red flag, track officials swept the track at turn 19, where the tarmac was broken up and marbles – small pieces of rubber shredded from tyres during cornering – were present.
Despite Sky Sports experts speculating the crashes were due to the marbles, Stroll said his problem was brakes.
Then it was Leclerc’s turn to explain what happened. He was furious.
“(It was) brakes. I mean it doesn’t help to have asphalt coming off but the data speaks for itself,” he told Sky Sports.
“I don’t know how much I can go into detail, it’s extremely frustrating, I’ve always been very honest. No matter how many mistakes I do, I would hate to look at myself in the mirror and see myself finding excuses when I do a mistake so that’s why I’m always blankly honest whenever I’m in front of cameras but I’m not going to take any of it today.
“It’s not even braking, I touched the brakes and there’s something with those brakes, on the front brakes it just broke a lot more than what I thought and in the rear brakes it had no deceleration, it’s like I had no rear brakes. That’s what I’m dealing with for two races now.
“I don’t have many words. Today, I look like an idiot. When you look like an idiot for a mistake of yours it’s fine, but it’s borderline dangerous.”
Leclerc’s frustration with the two races was obvious when cameras captured him addressing his team. The Monégasque driver put up two fingers for his team while unleashing his fury.
Charles Leclerc sprays his team. Fox Sports
“He’s absolutely furious ... look at that,” David Croft said on coverage.
“In a week that started so brilliantly well with a contract extension for Ferrari keeping him at the team for many years to come and what should’ve been a day of celebration and another podium for him has ended with a safety car resumption.”
The crashes added to a dramatic day of racing with multiple drivers penalised for speeding in the pit lane.
George Russell was one of them, and then received a penalty for not serving it properly.
Lewis Hamilton placed second, while Isack Hadjar was third. Australia’s Oscar Piastri couldn’t make the most of carnage in front of him, finishing fourth.
Oscar Piastri racing in Monaco. Getty
Max Verstappen also had drama after failing to move on the grid before retiring on lap one.
Seven drivers failed to finish the race which includes Verstappen, Stroll and Leclerc.
