“Mistake is easily made here”– Max Verstappen believes that Charles Leclerc is innocent and doesn’t want FIA to stip him off his advantage.
Charles Leclerc had a lucky day, as he managed to get the pole position start ahead of the Sunday race, despite crashing in Q3. However, it is also assumed that either Max Verstappen and Carlos Sainz would have taken that position if things would have remained normal.
Verstappen, who was initially infuriated with the crash, later calmed his nerves and congratulated Leclerc for his achievement when he reached the pitlane.
— F1 Reaction Pictures (@FormulaReaction) May 22, 2021
When asked whether Leclerc shall be punished for his crash, Verstappen absolutely rejected the idea and said that he believes in the Monegasque’s innocence.
“No, it makes a difference if someone does it consciously, but that was not the case here. We all push and a mistake is easily made here,” said Verstappen.
Verstappen op de vraag of in toekomst pole van Leclerc af zou moeten worden genomen na veroorzaken rode vlag:
“Nee, het is een verschil als iemand het bewust doet, maar dat was hier niet het geval. We pushen allemaal en een fout is hier makkelijk gemaakt.” #F1 #MonacoGP
— Erik van Haren (@ErikvHaren) May 22, 2021
Charles Leclerc backs his innocence.
According to Leclerc, he didn’t play any mind games to remain at the top of the grid on Sunday, as he mentions that if it was deliberate, the crash wouldn’t be so hard.
“If I did it on purpose, I would certainly crash less hard. Now I have to see if I actually start at the front,” said Leclerc. In the end, Leclerc remained lucky, as his gearbox didn’t take any significant damage, which might have relegated him to some other row.
Though, another inspection will be made on his car on Sunday morning.
