German Grand Prix – Charles Leclerc has crashed out of the race at Hockenheim, having just become a viable threat for the race win.
Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc has crashed out of the German GP at Hockenheim, beaching his car in the barriers at the side of the track in the stadium section.
The Monegasque driver crashed out just before half distance, having just become a realistic threat for the race win.
Having started the race from P10, the changeable conditions allowed him to take chances with his tyre choices. An early change to the Intermediate tyres was followed by an inspired second stop for a fresh set of Intermediates when the Virtual Safety Car was deployed to cover the recovery of the expired Renault of Daniel Ricciardo.
This allowed Leclerc to close up to P4 and then a switch to the Soft tyre just as the track began to hint at being suitable for dry tyres allowed him to move up to P2 behind Lewis Hamilton’s Mercedes.
However, any chance of victory dissipated almost immediately as he encountered a small kick of oversteer through the stadium section that sent him helpless as he skated across the tarmac of the drag strip that lines the track in Sector 3. He hit the barriers and the damage was too much to be able to continue.
Furious with himself, he got on the radio to shout at his own mistake and clambered out, unhurt.
The corner has proved tricky throughout the race, with Lewis Hamilton, Carlos Sainz, Nico Hulkenberg and Kimi Raikkonen all also going off at the corner with various degrees of severity. Nico Hulkenberg had been a threat for a podium, but his crash on Lap 41 also proved terminal.
