It took place during Monaco Historic Grand Prix.
Charles Leclerc, the current Formula 1 leader, has had quite a few unpleasant experiences at Monaco’s legendary street circuit. After a disastrous pit stop, his first appearance as a GP2 driver in 2017 ended in his retirement. He made the switch from GP2 to Formula 1 a year later, when his Alfa Romeo brakes failed. Brendon Hartley was then rear-ended by the Toro Rosso.
He crashed his Ferrari in 2019 and failed to finish the race. The coronavirus pandemic prevented 2020 from having a race, but last year’s race ended before it began. Leclerc had to retire because of a gearbox problem that caused Leclerc’s failure. The Monegasque continued his string of bad luck, this weekend. During the Monaco Historic GP he crashed a Ferrari 312B3 classic Ferrari 312B3 that was being driven by Clay Regazzoni and Niki Lauda during the 1974 season, when it finished second in the constructors’ championship.
The 24-year-old driver went on Twitter and explained what went wrong. The 2022 Bahrain winner and Australian F1 GP champion smashed into the barrier on the third lap. He was able to drive away despite the fact that the rear wing was damaged by the impact.
It didn’t take long for him to pull over on the main straight, as smoke was coming from the 312B3’s rear. Jacky Ickx, who was driving an older 312B, stopped a little further up. Leclerc stated that he had lost his brakes according to Motorsport.com. I lost my brakes. The pedal went to the ground after I braked. It was a blessing that it was there at the moment. I was able to get in and out of the corner without any problems.”
Ironically, a third 312B3 was also crashed at the event in 2021 by Jean Alesi after a collision on the straight with Marco Werner’s Lotus 77.