The Ferrari driver suffered a serious accident in Free Practice 2 of the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix after losing control of his car. The Monegasque could not control the rear of his car and hit the protection very hard at the Jeddah circuit.
The Saudi track debuted in the F1 world championship, not without controversy and doubts , because many claimed that it would not be in time for the event. Be that as it may, both the FIA and the organizers gave the go-ahead and the single-seaters of the highest category took to the track.
In Free Practice 1, everything went normally, however, in the second free practice session, Charles Leclerc went straight into the wall in Sector 3, causing a red flag that forced Friday’s action to end in Arabia Saudi. The good news is that the Monegasque came out of the accident unharmed and will be able to play normally for the rest of the weekend.
The drivers knew how fast and dangerous this Jeddah track was, and the first warning came with Nikita Mazepin, who spun at Turn 1 and was nearly run over by Lewis Hamilton. That movement, however, ended without consequences for either of the two pilots.
Leclerc, meanwhile, entered turn 22 at full speed in his Ferrari, but lost control of the rear and ended up destroying the car. Those from Maranello will have a lot of work to do during the Saudi night.
The Italian team is playing for third position in the constructors’ championship, and they must get a good result from Jeddah to travel to Abu Dhabi with the peace of mind that a point advantage over McLaren gives.
Leclerc’s teammate, Carlos Sainz, was able to finish in seventh position, so it seems that Ferrari will be stronger than the Woking team in this Grand Prix, but they will have to make an effort to overcome Alpine and AlphaTauri, who have stood up and opposed to be the best of the rest.
After an exhaustive analysis of the car, the Ferrari team confirmed that Leclerc will be able to contest the rest of the weekend with the same chassis and the same engine, since the damage has not been as serious as could have been expected after an impact of such magnitude.
Qualifying for the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix takes place tomorrow, and you can follow all the action from Jeddah on Motorsport.com.
