“They Are F**king Touching Him”: Charles Leclerc’s “Personal Space” Violated by Fans Chasing Him After Miami GP Crash

After hitting the wall on turn 7 at the Miami International Autodrome, Charles Leclerc’s FP2 came to an end on Friday. The Monegasque driver, and his teammate Carlos Sainz were looking good in terms of performance, but Leclerc crashing into the wall brought out the red flag.

Charles Leclerc 💥 Turn 8 barriers #MiamiGP #F1 pic.twitter.com/Wp0luW0Q2K

— Formula 1 (@F1) May 5, 2023

Leclerc’s car had to be taken away, and he jumped into the back of a scooter to make his way back to the paddock. However, there were some fans who began chasing Leclerc as he traveled back to the garage, which wasn’t well received by fans on social media.

F1 drivers are extremely popular, and the likes of Leclerc, even more so. However, chasing a driver and violating his “personal space” right after they crash out of a session, isn’t something one should be doing. “They are f**king touching him, I don’t like it,” wrote Angelic on Twitter.

they are fucking touching him i dont like it

— angelic (@ikarusgi) May 5, 2023

“Some people are not familiar with the “personal space” definition,” says Guadalupe, also on Twitter.

Some people are not familiar with the “personal space” definition 🙄

— Guadalupe 🇦🇷 (@1996Guada) May 5, 2023

The group of fans who were chasing Leclerc on his way back to the Ferrari garage were most probably looking for a autograph, or photograph with the 25-year-old. Charles Leclerc, however, ignored them completely, and didn’t even take his helmet off.

Gap to Red Bull is a worrying sign for Charles Leclerc

In the first three races of the season, Ferrari’s pace wasn’t just far off to Red Bull, but to Aston Martin and Mercedes as well. The three-week break brought some mojo back to the SF-23’s pace, with the Scuderia fielding the second fastest car in Baku. However, second-fastest isn’t enough for Leclerc.

If Friday’s free practice sessions are taken into account, the signs point toward a similar weekend for Ferrari. Leclerc was quicker than both Aston Martin and Mercedes drivers, but couldn’t match Max Verstappen and his Red Bull.

Speaking to Sky Sports after the race, Leclerc sounded concerned about the fact that they are “so far behind Red Bull”. In one lap pace, the Monegasque can aim to fight for the pole position, like he did in Azerbaijan. But, when it comes to race pace, the RB19 looks unstoppable at the moment.

Carlos Sainz on how 2023 Miami GP feels different from last year

Unlike Leclerc, Sainz had a woeful outing in Azerbaijan last weekend. The Spaniard struggled for pace throughout, and even apologized to his team for not matching Leclerc in the race. As he looks to bounce back in Miami this weekend, Sainz pointed out that the track feels very different than it did when they traveled to Florida last year.

Overall, however, the Madrid-born driver is happy with his outings on Friday. He put in plenty of laps using all tyre compounds, and with another practice session set to take place today, Ferrari will get plenty of data to work on.

🇺🇸 Intense Friday in Miami with high temperatures and a lot of running. The tarmac is very different to last year so it was important to get a good feeling of the new conditions. We completed the whole program, so plenty of data for tonight.

👉https://t.co/PkBewMqgJb

-… pic.twitter.com/qew9ZEmDAI

— Carlos Sainz (@Carlossainz55) May 6, 2023

In FP2 on Friday, Sainz finished in P2, ahead of his teammate Charles Leclerc, but was still much slower compared to Verstappen.