Was it Verstappen's tear-off that got stuck in Leclerc's car?

28 August 2022 at 18:15

Last update 28 August 2022 at 18:22

GPblog.com

Charles Leclerc was doing well to work his way through the field along with Max Verstappen, but had to come in early because a tear-off got stuck in his brake duct. That event appears to have taken a remarkable turn: it seems that the tear-off came from Verstappen.

Possibly caused by Verstappen?

El propio tear off de Verstappen arruinó la carrera de @Charles_Leclerc en la vuelta 1. pic.twitter.com/NRt5zTvv2u
— Diego Alonso (@DiegoAlonsoF1) August 28, 2022

Onboard footage shows Verstappen pulling a tear-off of his visor and it then blowing towards Leclerc's right front wheel. Not long after, the Ferrari driver reports smoke coming from his right front brake, after which he had to come in for a stop.

In his late pit stop, Leclerc drove one kilometre too fast in the pit lane, for which he was penalised with a five-second penalty. Mattia Binotto explains that a sensor stopped working due to overheating, possibly caused by the tear-off that ended up in Leclerc's brake. This caused the actual speed in the pit lane to be displayed incorrectly.

Leclerc reed 1 kilometer per uur te hard in de pitstraat. Binotto legde net uit dat de sensor die ze normaal gebruiken niet werkte, vanwege overheating.

Leclerc had problemen met zijn koeling, vermoedelijk omdat er een tear-off van helm Verstappen daarin terechtkwam. #F1
— Erik van Haren (@ErikvHaren) August 28, 2022