Monaco Grand Prix – Charles Leclerc was denied the opportunity to finish his first home Formula One race after crashing out in the closing stages of the Monaco Grand Prix.
Leclerc is the first Monegasque to compete on the Circuit de Monaco since Oliver Beretta in 1994 and had impressed in qualifying by securing a place in Q2 – a feat he has achieved for the third race in a row.
He was running in twelfth place and chasing Toro Rosso’s Brendon Hartley in the final laps of his Monaco Grand Prix debut, but a collision with his fellow competitor at the Nouvelle Chicane eliminated both drivers from the race.
The stewards decided to take no further action on the incident and Leclerc later revealed that it was a brake issue that caused the collision.
“It was a tough race, and it is disappointing that I could not finish it,” said Leclerc.
“Everything was going quite well, we had a good pace, and were competitive in the midfield. We lost a bit of time getting stuck behind Brendon (Hartley) for much of the race and, being on a track where it is difficult to overtake, there was not much we could do.
“Unfortunately, there was an issue with my brakes just a few laps before finishing. I tried to avoid the car ahead, but there was nothing I could do. A shame, but I look forward to the next race in Canada now.”
The result promoted team-mate Marcus Ericsson to eleventh place, but he could make no further progress and Sauber leave the Principality without a point.
