Charles Leclerc quickly denied any intent after his crash in Q3 secured him pole position at the Monaco Grand Prix.
The home favourite was fastest in the first run of the top 10 shootout but would bin it at the Swimming Pool during the second, preventing any of his rivals from improving.
Of course, similar incidents have happened before, notably Michael Schumacher parking at Rascasse in 2006 and Nico Rosberg heading into the escape road at Mirabeau in 2014.
But as for Leclerc in 2021…
“If I was doing it on purpose, I would have done it a less bit hard!” the Ferrari driver responded. “For now, I’m worried about the rear of the car. I hope it’s OK, but it doesn’t look OK.”
Indeed, the Monegasque may still have to take a five-place grid drop for a new gearbox or potentially start from the pit lane if a new chassis is required.
As for his emotions following a first pole since Mexico 2019, and his first in Monte Carlo, Leclerc continued…
“It’s a shame to finish in the wall. It doesn’t feel the same but at the same time, I am incredibly happy about my first timed lap.
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“The first corner was quite tricky, I didn’t do a great first corner but then, second and third sector I nailed it.
“Just very, very happy to be on pole. Obviously, it was very difficult to manage myself mentally after FP2. I could feel I was quite emotional in the car but I told myself ‘now it’s Q3, now it’s time to put everything together’, and I managed to do so.
“I am incredibly happy but it’s tomorrow that we score points, but I have to say, it’s a big surprise for everyone to be on pole and in fourth for the race.”
