“That was a proper, proper impact” – Mercedes boss Toto Wolff refuses to entertain suggestions Charles Leclerc deliberately crashed his Ferrari to grab Monaco GP pole.
Homeboy Charles Leclerc crashed his Ferrari near the Swimming Pool complex during final qualifying in Monte Carlo, effectively winning him the pole position. This massively upset the likes of Valtteri Bottas and Max Verstappen, the duo seeing their final runs abruptly stopped.
The Red Flag led to #crashgate trending on Twitter, with suggestions of ‘Leclerc MasterPlan’ and Ferrari conspiracy to ensure Leclerc becomes the first Monegasque to take pole at the Monaco Grand Prix.
CrashGate parte 2 https://t.co/TXf5YTPMPo
— Ronaldo Machado (@R_Machado37) May 22, 2021
Wolff rejects Leclerc ‘crashgate’ suggestions
Toto Wolff, however, dismissed the notion of a devious plan, considering the impact of the crash on the Ferrari. There is also the possibility of Leclerc getting a grid-drop penalty for a potential gearbox change.
“That was a proper, proper impact. Such a crash like that could put you in real jeopardy with a broken gearbox, which can put you 10 places back.”
Wolff also reflected on a poor day for Mercedes, with Bottas finishing P3 and three-time Monaco winner Lewis Hamilton a shocking P7.
“It was not a good day for us overall. We need to find out why we couldn’t get Lewis’ car in a happier place and Valtteri could have been on a pole lap. He was two and a half tenths up on his lap and probably could have just made it.
“We don’t know what the problems are. It looked like the whole day today we couldn’t generate the grip on Lewis’ tyres. Valtteri was happier in the morning session and obviously, you build confidence [from there].”
Read more “It’s a shame to finish in the wall”– Charles Leclerc on anti-climax in Monaco GP quali
