Amidst 5-Place Grid Penalty Risk, Charles Leclerc Spots Fault in Ferrari for His Big Crash in Q3

Sabyasachi Biswas | 27/08/2023
Amidst 5-Place Grid Penalty Risk, Charles Leclerc Spots Fault in Ferrari for His Big Crash in Q3

Charles Leclerc did not had the best qualifying session on Saturday at the Dutch Grand Prix. The Monegasque driver lost control of his car during Q3 and eventually hit the barrier at high speed. Due to this, there are chances that the Ferrari star might have to use a new gearbox and therefore take a grid penalty. Amidst the penalty hovering over him, Leclerc has found the fault in Ferrari which caused his crash, as per F1TV.

The Ferrari driver was pushing his car to the limit to have the best possible time on the sheet. The same thing he did in Q2 and qualified in P5. Therefore, he tried the same in Q3 with threats of rain lurking.

He was trying to take out his best lap as he not wanted to take the risk and fall behind the traffic. Nevertheless, in chase of the fastest time he lost the balance and eventually got himself in P9 for Sunday’s race.

Charles Leclerc reasoned why he crashed in Q3

During the post-qualification interview with F1TV, Leclerc pointed out the reason why he lost control of his car and the next thing he knew was the barrier. When asked by Lawrence Barretto about this, he revealed he tried his best but it didn’t work out well.

Following this, he added, “We had a very difficult balance and a very difficult car to drive all weekend and there are lots of fronts than there are rears, just couldn’t go around the corner.”

Even though the Monegasque driver starts the race from P9, if he decides to go for the gearbox, that will see him further away from points finish, let alone the chase for the podium.

Leclerc needs a miracle to have a decent race weekend

Charles Leclerc is not having the best of times at Zandvoort. After qualifying in P9, there are chances that the Ferrari driver will receive a five-place grid penalty if he chooses to go for a new gearbox.

This will put him in P14 for Sunday’s race and therefore kill the chances of salvaging high points. Despite this, Leclerc and Ferrari will try their best to grab as many points as possible.

Even Carlos Sainz is out of the top 5 when it comes to race start as he starts the race from P6. Nevertheless, Ferrari and Charles Leclerc would want to end this weekend as soon as possible and head to Monza for their home Grand Prix.

Post Edited By: Pritam Priyedarshi

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Sabyasachi Biswas

Sabyasachi Biswas is an F1 journalist at The SportsRush. With over one and a half decades of love for the sport and five years of experience in the field, he dreams to be a regular at the paddock when the lights go out. A Red Bull fan and F1 fan in general over the years, he enjoyed watching Felipe Massa, Sebastian Vettel, and Max Verstappen dominate the track. Apart from F1, he's also a big-time Madridista and Federer fanatic. He was a sub-junior level footballer, won inter-district quizzes and debate competitions back in school. A travel freak throughout, he tries different cuisines and learns new cultures whenever he's away from the keyboard.