F1 Brazilian Grand Prix: Ferrari's Charles Leclerc Reveals SF-23 Malfunction that Led to his DNS

The 2023 Sao Paulo Grand Prix got off to a rough start for Ferrari's Charles Leclerc. After crashing in Turn 7 during the formation lap, he didn't even get to see the lights go out. Initially, it seemed that Leclerc might have caused the embarrassing crash, but, then, he swiftly communicated via radio that a hydraulic malfunction caused him to swerve into the wall. Leclerc was supposed to start the race in the second position, right behind Red Bull's Max Verstappen.

The incident started with a little puff of smoke coming from behind his Ferrari SF-23, leading to a loss of control due to a problem with the rear axle. Subsequently, Leclerc found himself unable to steer the car, resulting in the crash and leaving his P2 slot on the grid vacant as the other 19 drivers began the race. When Kevin Magnussen, Nico Hulkenberg, and Alex Albon got into a crash, things became worse, forcing the race to a halt.

Also Read: F1 Brazilian Grand Prix: Max Verstappen Wins Chaotic Sao Paulo GP; Norris, Alonso Complete Podium

F1 Brazilian Grand Prix: What Caused the Crash?

In a post-race interview, Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc said, ‘It’s been a disappointing day on my side. Starting from P2, we were hoping to bring home plenty of points to move up in the championship fight, but unfortunately, we had to retire early. Coming into Turn 6 on the formation lap, I lost my power steering and the wheel went stiff, also locking up the rears.'

In an almost unbelievable twist, Charles Leclerc crashes on the formation lap #F1 #BrazilGP pic.twitter.com/7LMXt1llGQ

— Formula 1 (@F1) November 5, 2023

'I’m focused on the last two races of the season now, we won’t give up and will fight to finish with the best constructors’ classification result we can achieve. I will give it everything in Las Vegas,' the Monegascer added.

Ferrari team principal Fred Vasseur said, 'We are very disappointed because we could have scored plenty of important points for the championship, but we lost Charles even before the start due to a reliability problem, which sent him off the track on the formation lap. He would have been starting on the front row and on top of that, we had sacrificed his Sprint chances yesterday to favour today’s Grand Prix. Now we must investigate carefully to see exactly what happened with his car.'

F1: Battle for P2 in Constructor Championship

With just two races remaining in the 2023 Formula 1 season, the fight for the runner-up spot in the Constructors' Championship has become intense between Mercedes and Ferrari. The two teams are separated by only 20 points in the Constructors' Championship standings. With 44 points on the line in each of the last two races, the outcome of this high-stakes competition may come down to a single race.

Also Read: Interview with Kush Maini: How It All Unfolded from F3 to F2 to F1 with Mika Hakkinen

Mercedes is now in second place, behind only Red Bull, with 382 points. Meanwhile, Ferrari is right on its heels in third place with 362 points. Ferrari needs to regularly outperform Mercedes's Lewis Hamilton and George Russell in the final 2 races of the season to secure second place in the championship.

As the last two races approach, we can expect to see these two teams create yet another exciting chapter in motorsport history.