Charles Leclerc crashed Niki Lauda’s iconic £1 million Ferrari car from 1974 after driving it around the track in Monaco. The day was set to be a special one for the Monacan Star, driving the car of one of his heroes around his own home city.
The memorable moment soon turned sour, as the 24-year-old lost control of Lauda’s legendary car and drove into the track-side wall. Leclerc has enjoyed a super start to the 2022 campaign, with the Ferrari man currently leading the way in the driver standings by 19 points.
His hot form in Ferrari’s modern car clearly did not transfer over when driving one of their traditional models though, leaving the 24-year-old mortified.
Leclerc’s trip around the Monaco track seemed to be a leisurely one in the £1million antique car, but his exhibition drive soon turned into a nightmare. As he approached the La Rascasse corner the Monacan lost control, following a break failure in the 48-year-old vehicle.
This saw the Ferrari man’s backend spin out, which led to him crashing into the wall that runs along the side of the iconic track. A stunned Leclerc then paused for a moment before pulling out of the mess, and attempting to drive down the rest of the track.
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The damage was done though, as the rear wing was heavily hampered causing it to rub across the back wheel as he made an effort to restart his lap. This isn’t the first nightmare crash Leclerc has had on his home track, after suffering a crash in qualifying last year, forcing him out of the race when pole position looked certain.
Following his crash in Lauda’s historic car the Monacan took to Twitter, writing: “When you thought you already had all the bad luck of the world in Monaco and you lose the brakes into rascasse with one of the most iconic historical Ferrari Formula 1 car."
The famous car was used by Lauda in 1974, and helped him secure victory in the Spanish Grand Prix and the Austrian Grand Prix on the way to a fourth-placed finish in the standings that year. This is not the first time the vehicle has been crashed, after Jean Alesi did just that at the same event as Leclerc’s nightmare last year.
Leclerc will be out to avenge his home track misfortunes this campaign, when he and the rest of the Formula 1 cohort head back to Monaco for one of the sport’s most iconic races on May 29.
