Leclerc's crash fuels discussion: "You can't just punish everything"
F1 News
- GPblog.com
After the qualification in Monaco, there was a lot of irritation by several drivers. Because of a crash of the man on pole, Charles Leclerc, other drivers couldn't set a faster time. Should there be a heavier penalty for this in the future?
Error by Leclerc
Max Verstappen eventually won the Monaco Grand Prix, but for a while it looked like victory was going to slip out of his hands here. The Dutchman was fast in his last attempt in Q3 but had to abandon his lap, like many others, due to a red flag. The red flag was caused by the man on pole, Leclerc.
In the past, we have seen examples of men who did this on purpose. Think of Michael Schumacher's infamous action at Rascasse in 2006, or Nico Rosberg's move coming out of Mirabeau in 2014. After Leclerc's crash, questions arose about this as well and people looked at a solution.
No IndyCar rule
IndyCar, for example, has the rule that the driver who causes a red flag is taken away his fastest time. That way, someone can also lose his pole. ''I wouldn't do that. It's motorsport. You can't regulate everything. You can't penalise everything'', says Ralf Schumacher on that at Sky Germany.
According to the former Formula One driver, the FIA is also smart enough these days to distinguish a deliberate mistake from a real crash. ''The FIA is much more experienced in that respect now. Nobody would try it now, because they are very harsh with the penalties,'' Schumacher concludes.