Charles Leclerc took the infamous 130R Turn single-handedly after he sustained damage to his bodywork after colliding with Max Verstappen.
In the 2019 Japanese GP, Charles Leclerc headed to Suzuka for the first time as a Ferrari driver. The Monegasque had secured his first 2 race wins in Belgium and Italy.
He had bagged 4 consecutive poles in Spa, Monza, Singapore and Russia. The Monegasque came to Suzuka with a lot of hype surrounding him.
Charles narrowly missed out on pole position to his teammate Sebastian Vettel. He started the race P2 as Ferrari locked up the front row. But the rest of the race did not play out in his favour.
Both Ferraris suffered a horrible start and were quickly overtaken by the Mercedes of Valtteri Bottas. Leclerc tried to catch up and was P3 heading into Turn 1.
However, he was overtaken by Max Verstappen. The duo went side-by-side into Turn 2, but the Monegasque suffered understeer and collided with the Dutchman.
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Charles Leclerc’s insane one-hand move around 130R
Both Max Verstappen and Charles Leclerc suffered damage to their bodywork. But Leclerc insisted on staying out despite the state of his Ferrari SF90.
Leclerc fearlessly headed to the infamous 130R while defending Lewis Hamilton. His left rear-view mirror was loose and was vibrating vigorously.
The Ferrari Pitwall even radioed him to ‘box’ this lap. But the Monegasque kept going fearlessly and executed a spectacular turn around the corner. With One Hand!
Leclerc held on to his mirror with his right hand and steered with his left. And he went around the turn while going flat-out at 300 Km/H.
The Race Director ordered Ferrari to pit and change parts after debris from Leclerc’s car was flying loose and even hit Lewis Hamilton. Leclerc stated that he was not aware of the damage to his front wing and stayed out instead.
Leclerc was handed a 5-second penalty for crashing with Max Verstappen. And ten seconds for driving in an unsafe condition after the collision.
Why is Suzuka’s 130R called such?
Suzuka’s turn 15 is known popularly as ‘130R’ It is a very fast left-hander towards the end of the lap. The corner is named so that the turn has a radius of 130 metres.
It’s taken flat out by F1 racers who enter the turn after a long straight stretch from Spoon. But a small mistake and you’d be sent flying to the barriers.
Hence it is one of the most feared corners in the entire F1 calendar. There’s no braking at this turn and drivers even avoid racing side-by-side at this feared turn
An average driver would never have the guts to go full throttle around the turn with one hand. But the manoeuvre at 130R shows the immense skill and confidence Charles Leclerc has in his driving.
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