Barcelona GP suspended after high-speed Ferrari crash as medics rush to scene
Charles Leclerc crashed his Ferrari in Q3 qualifying at the Barcelona Grand Prix as George Russell went on to claim pole position for Mercedes
Charles Leclerc crashed out of qualifying in Barcelona(Image: Sky Sports)
Qualifying for the Barcelona-Catalunya came to an abrupt stop during the battle for pole position when Charles Leclerc crashed his Ferrari into the barrier. It marked the most recent mishap in a dismal spell for Leclerc, who sign a fresh Ferrari contract last week but then followed that with a crash in his home grand prix at Monaco.
His most recent accident occurred during Q3 on Saturday as he sought to secure pole position for his Ferrari. He was navigating the flowing right-handed turn four at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya when the rear of his vehicle lost grip.
As he attempted to gather it up, the tyres regained traction and he was catapulted off the circuit, through the gravel and into the barriers.
It proved a dreadful moment for Leclerc who swiftly exited his car under his own steam, though even beneath his racing helmet his exasperation was evident. The medical vehicle arrived to collect him, its dispatch happened automatically as the force of the car striking the barrier registered more than 25G.
Race officials also brought out the red flag with eight-and-a-half minutes left on the clock.
There followed a brief interruption to qualifying of approximately 10 minutes, which allowed for repairs to be completed on the barrier to ensure it remained secure should another driver encounter trouble at the same section of track when proceedings resumed.
Leclerc had been amongst the favourites for pole with Ferrari appearing strong for speed in the opening two segments of qualifying.
All of the Scuderia’s aspirations suddenly rested on Lewis Hamilton who did manage to clock the quickest time in Q1, proving he possessed the pace to challenge for pole if he finished his lap perfectly.
And it nearly delivered a storybook maiden pole position as a Ferrari driver – but fell just short. His final attempt proved sufficient for the front row yet was 0.064 seconds adrift of his former team-mate George Russell who secured pole for his Mercedes.
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It proved a vital lap from Russell given he needs to begin closing the deficit to team-mate Kimi Antonelli in the championship battle.
Five consecutive Grand Prix triumphs have allowed the Italian youngster to stretch his advantage over Russell to 68 points following a dreadful spell for the Briton which has also seen him drop behind Hamilton in the drivers’ table.
Speaking following qualifying, Russell commented: “It’s been a great weekend so far. I kind of feel like my old self again, where every lap I’m doing my job and always fighting in those top positions. At the last few races, for numerous reasons, luck hasn’t quite been on my side, but I came into this weekend as a clean slate, feeling good and it’s great to be on pole.”
