F1 Azerbaijan Grand Prix: Charles Leclerc causes red flag with HUGE crash at Baku

Verstappen, Norris and Leclerc on the podium in Miami — Photo: © IMAGO

Azerbaijan GP Practice

Championship challenger causes red flag with HUGE crash

Charles Leclerc had a disastrous start to his weekend

Sam Cook Digital Journalist

Sports Journalist who has been covering motorsport since 2023

Friday 13 September 2024 12:11 Updated: 17:18

Ferrari's Charles Leclerc suffered a disastrous start to his Azerbaijan Grand Prix weekend, after smashing into the barriers at the Baku City Circuit.

FP1 was less than halfway complete when the Monegasque driver locked up heading into Turn 15, and faced a hefty shunt into the barrier.

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It was a less than impressive start to the weekend for the Ferrari star, who had propelled himself into an outside shot of a championship challenge following his victory at Monza last time out.

Charles Leclerc had a tough start to the Azerbaijan GP weekend

Leclerc's crash brings out red flag

Following that stunning victory at his team's home grand prix, Leclerc is only 86 points behind Red Bull's Max Verstappen, with the Dutchman and his team facing serious performance issues.

Lando Norris is the favourite to sweep up if Verstappen's struggles continue, but Leclerc's two race victories have put him in with an outside chance.

The Ferrari star was actually running at the top of the timesheets before his crash, following an electric time set on the medium tyres.

The Monegasque driver recently crashed another of his Ferraris around the streets of Monaco, causing some embarrassment.

He will be grateful that neither his Monaco crash last week nor his FP1 crash at the Azerbaijan GP were during a competitive session.

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Ferrari Charles Leclerc Azerbaijan Grand Prix Monza Baku City Circuit