An unhappy Charles Leclerc criticised the “unacceptable” run-off area at the outside of turn 15 after the crash that put him out of the German Grand Prix.
The corner was the scene of multiple incidents and crashes during the race. Leclerc crashed after losing control of his car on the Tarmac drag strip at the exit of the corner.“It was very slippery,” said the Ferrari driver. “The only thing I can say is I think it’s unacceptable to have this type of Tarmac exit out of the two last corners there. It’s like a dragster track and once you go on it, it’s just very, very dangerous
“So my mistake was not huge but the fact that going on this Tarmac I had absolutely no control over the car.”
However Leclerc said he was solely to blame for the crash which put him out.
“This is in no way an excuse to the mistake. I take full responsibility of it. But I believe that this type of Tarmac should not be on a Formula 1 track.”
Leclerc’s crash came after his car was repaired overnight following the fuel system problem which put him out of qualifying yesterday.
“It feels very bad,” he said. “I feel very bad for the team, for the fans, for everyone that has been working also to put the car back together for today. It’s a big shame.”
Don't miss anything new from RaceFans
Follow RaceFans on social media:
Advert | Become a RaceFans supporter and
2019 F1 season
- Crying in the Melbourne car park at 2019 grand prix was my career low – Ocon
- McLaren Racing reports reduced £71 million loss in 2019
- Kvyat: Hockenheim podium last year was “my biggest achievement” so far
- How the FIA’s new encrypted fuel flow meter targets Ferrari’s suspected ‘aliasing’ trick
- “He smashed my office door”: 23 must-see moments from ‘Drive to Survive’ season two
Nathan Builder (@nathanbuilder)
28th July 2019, 16:27
He should have done with Vettel did.
JI
28th July 2019, 16:27
Sorry for saying this, but overrated
Psi (@psi)
28th July 2019, 16:47
Not excused. Drivers like Lewis, Kimi and Hulk, also did the same mistake.
John
28th July 2019, 17:06
Then Hamilton is overrated. For a seasoned veteran to have 2 spins in one race, one occurring during a safety lap, doesn’t do much for those claiming is the GOAT.
Jeffrey (@jeffreyj)
28th July 2019, 18:21
Hamilton, at this point, is a bit overrated indeed. Or rather, Lewis actually is a great in the history of this sport but he is just a little bit flattered by being in a Merc in this hybrid era.
Leclerc looks very promising but we are talking about him in the same breath as Verstappen, whilst Max already has 7 wins in a mostly inferior car. Charles has 0 in a car that actually is good enough to challenge Mercedes on merit. Now, his tenure in the red car is only 10 races old, but he did make a few glaring and costly mistakes already.
Slavisa (@sylversurferr)
28th July 2019, 19:20
Crashstappen is overrated to.
Gaspar Palagyi (@palagyi)
28th July 2019, 18:32
Hamilton is overrated.
grat
28th July 2019, 19:18
You might as well say Senna and Schumacher were overrated too.
Being a great driver doesn’t mean you don’t have a crappy race weekend. It’s how you deal with it that counts.
So how many F1 races have you won?
RB13
28th July 2019, 19:27
Here we go, all the little trolls have been waiting an eternity for Lewis to make a mistake and are creaming themselves at the chance to twist the knife. Pathetic.
First mistake in god knows how long but sEb iS bETter ThaN leWiS all of a sudden when he makes errors most weekends.
Gaspar Palagyi (@palagyi)
28th July 2019, 20:38
I’m quite sure I have won the exact same amount of F1 races as anybody here, so that doesn’t settle much. I think Hamilton is overrated. That’s my opinion on the topic; overreaction from your part does absolutely nothing to change that.
Allstar GP
29th July 2019, 9:05
Oh yeah! Well I think Stroll is overrated!!!!!!!!!
Phylyp (@phylyp)
28th July 2019, 16:28
I don’t know, Charles, that’s kind of become my favourite corner.
Oni (@oni)
28th July 2019, 16:29
+1
Islander
28th July 2019, 18:16
Not very classy of Leclerc to go on about ‘unacceptable’….
Others didn’t end up underneath the Mercedes Benz sign like he did.
Phylyp (@phylyp)
28th July 2019, 18:18
He’s probably upset that no matter what he does, Mercedes Benz always ends up on top of him.
toiago (@toiago)
28th July 2019, 20:06
@phylyp lol good one!
Euro Brun (@eurobrun)
28th July 2019, 19:41
Its entertaining that people want gravel run off, not tarmac. In this instance the tarmac is lined by the tiniest amount of gravel, but just enough to trap a car.
Full gravel trap today would have removed at least another two or three cars. Enough that Williams could have had a major winfall!
I know in this instance he’s complaining about the “wrong type” of tarmac, but I guess its good that tracks are different, even off track.
Bleu (@bleu)
28th July 2019, 16:28
It was easy to see than run-off made big impacts on relatively small mistakes, as seen with Hülkenberg, Hamilton and Räikkönen too.
bosyber (@bosyber)
28th July 2019, 16:35
Yeah, it died; still, not everyone go on it when it was the biggest problem, so they were there to pick up the win/podium/points.
bosyber (@bosyber)
28th July 2019, 16:35
did, gah @bleu
Dave
28th July 2019, 16:29
“But I believe that this type of Tarmac should not be on a Formula 1 track.”
Er, it wasn’t. Stay on the track…
Phylyp (@phylyp)
28th July 2019, 16:31
Exactly.
All those fans who get annoyed at drivers’ inability to stay between the white lines feel vindicated today.
GtisBetter (@)
28th July 2019, 16:33
He has a point, having standing water defeats the whole purpose of the run-off. The point is that you still have some control of your car, not that you aquaplane into the barriers.
bosyber (@bosyber)
28th July 2019, 16:36
@passingisoverrated yeah, well said – stay on track, but for safety, gravel would have been better there today.
GtisBetter (@)
28th July 2019, 16:40
They are unrelated. It’s rediculous to suggest that you can’t criticise an issue, just because you made a mistake.
GtisBetter (@)
28th July 2019, 16:42
@bosyber Was for someone else, this comment
Phylyp (@phylyp)
28th July 2019, 17:23
@bosyber – but they did have gravel at the periphery, didn’t they? So that helped bleed off speed before arriving at the barriers.
bosyber (@bosyber)
28th July 2019, 18:06
Yep, it did, today that was a good thing, it definitely helped to keep Hamilton in the race, for example @phylyp
hahostolze (@hahostolze)
28th July 2019, 16:40
@passingisoverrated @bosyber well, no. Or, not sure @bosyber is tongue in cheek, but the alternative is either fatal wall, or almost-always fatal gravel. Tarmac means the *right* driver can salvage it (say, Kimi)
bosyber (@bosyber)
28th July 2019, 16:51
@hahostolze, well, it would have been better today to have gravel, but I was a bit flippant, bit of a high after that race I suppose :)
To be serious, that bit of tarmac there is the dragstrip, which probably means it has quite a bit of rubber there to be slippery when wet. They could look whether a different solution there might be better for wet races (have at least a year now, I gather …).
But, as you say @hohostolze, ultimately, those that slipped up there, went too fast into the corner so they couldn’t halt the momentum on that slippery bit that was off track, while others didn’t let it get to that point.
Applebook
30th July 2019, 1:37
The “right driver” running an illegal car.
Good point.
Proteus (@proteus)
28th July 2019, 17:11
The drivers became too comfortable using the runoff areas without any serious time loss, but once when its wet and when it bites them they start to moan and cry. If there would be gravel, he might have been stuck, if there would be a wall he would break the wing or the suspension as well. And he would still moan it is not fair. I thought more of him, but he is becoming a professional moaner. He was moaning in Austria, now he moans in Germany….
CarWars (@maxv)
28th July 2019, 17:46
Nothing wrong with run off, learn to stay on track. Make everything gravel and grass again, see em complain..
Phylyp (@phylyp)
28th July 2019, 18:20
@proteus – it was amusing (in a cruel way) to see the Hulk frantically spinning his wheels in the gravel. I don’t know what he hoped to achieve, what with the way his car was pointing into the barriers, and with apparent front-left suspension damage.
spoutnik (@spoutnik)
28th July 2019, 16:31
Does Monaco also have unacceptable runoffs then? Unforgiving layout just how it should be, Charles. Better luck next time!
Alianora La Canta (@alianora-la-canta)
29th July 2019, 23:14
It doesn’t have a bath at the edge of the track (even the big bath is separated from the track by barriers).
Boudi
28th July 2019, 16:32
Now can we know why LEC escaped the unsafe release penalty? VER was penalized with 5 seconds penalty in Monaco for unsafe release.
Psi (@psi)
28th July 2019, 16:52
It was a penalty. I was waiting for 5 or 10 seconds. Unacceptable. If there was a touch with Grosjean, they could easily run over pit members
Chris (@chrisgalaz)
28th July 2019, 20:20
i think they dont want to enforce a race penalty for something that doesnt affect the race. if they had contact he would take a penalty like max in monaco an i think they have made a good decision
JohnH (@johnrkh)
28th July 2019, 16:57
Boudi The team has been fined, the driver should not be penalised for this they go when told.
Phylyp (@phylyp)
28th July 2019, 17:26
The thing is, whatever the fine is (say 50k pounds), it means different things to different teams. To someone like Williams, it’s a fair chunk of money. To the manufacturers and RBR, it’s a rounding error. And that sets into motion a calculus that “OK, let’s shave a tenth off the pit exit to overtake the car ahead, the worst is we pay 50k”. Max’s shenanigans at Monaco were bad enough, and now this.
A time penalty hurts everyone equally, those competing for positions/points more so. And that would make them fear it more.
I was pleased that Leclerc escaped sanction for a pit crew error, but am disheartened at the precedent that has been set.
CarWars (@maxv)
28th July 2019, 17:49
Yep, sets a dangerous precedent. Dangerous being the key word, it’s to protect the people working in the pitlane, they just but a price on their injuries..
Phylyp (@phylyp)
28th July 2019, 18:19
@maxv – perfectly summed up.
Gabriel (@rethla)
29th July 2019, 11:59
@phylyp
I think its pretty clear that had he gained an advantage or caused a crash he would have gotten a penalty. This is no precedant to do whatever you want in the pitlane for a fine…
JohnH (@johnrkh)
28th July 2019, 22:19
@phylyp
That’s the issue for me, a driver or the other part of the team being penalised for the others mistake. The driver runs a separate points sore than the team so that could be one option. if a monetary penalty is imposed it could be proportional to the teams budget. So yes Williams may be 50-100k while Ferrari may be several million.
I’m sure there will be further discussion after that decision.
spoutnik (@spoutnik)
28th July 2019, 22:41
@phylyp then maybe put a fine proportional to the bonus payments?
Phylyp (@phylyp)
29th July 2019, 3:16
@johnrkh @spoutnik – a proportional penalty would work in many cases, but there’d still be times like a title decider where the prestige of a win outweighs even a stringent cost. And no, I fail to see the distinction between a driver being penalized for a crew error – they’re a team and they win/lose as one. It’s no different from the team losing out on points because a driver binned the car.
I know I said “I was pleased that Leclerc escaped sanction for a pit crew error”, but I must clarify that if Leclerc had been handed a time penalty that went on to affect his finishing position/points, I’d have been furious with Ferrari, sympathetic to Leclerc, but that’s racing. I wouldn’t have been asking for any waiver for Leclerc.
spoutnik (@spoutnik)
29th July 2019, 8:21
@phylyp fair enough, I can absolutely hear the “winning and loosing as one” argument. I was more thinking about a way to avoid ruining a race on technicalities.
John H (@john-h)
28th July 2019, 16:33
‘Oooo it’s too slippery’. Jeez.
Shame he’s talking like this. Keep being likeable please Charles!
Sensord4notbeingafanboi (@peartree)
28th July 2019, 16:33
needed someone on his ear saying slow down. charles had many moments many more than everyone else at that moment.
hahostolze (@hahostolze)
28th July 2019, 16:38
Charles Leclerc, a driver for his generation. Tilke-sad.
CarWars (@maxv)
28th July 2019, 16:39
Sore loser, showed he needs to delevop a lot more.
Panagiotis Papatheodorou (@panagiotism-papatheodorou)
28th July 2019, 16:42
This is his 3rd crucial mistake of the year. He is fast and talented but he needs to fix those mistakes. But don’t be too hard on yourself Charles, even Lewis did a mistake as well as Kimi.
Gabriel (@naylamp)
28th July 2019, 17:10
and everyone think he is way better than VET
Gabriel (@rethla)
29th July 2019, 11:40
@naylamp
Well he is, have you been watching Vettel lately? ;)
LeClerc is having some rookiemistakes but there really is no excuse for Vettels lack of pace and sloppiness.
Feuerdrache (@xenomorph91)
28th July 2019, 16:44
He knew the run-off was extremely slippery. Hence there is also the option to take it more slowly in that one corner to avoid a DNF – especially on a new set of dry tyres.
Blaize Falconberger (@)
28th July 2019, 16:51
So, Mercedes say it’s a weekend for learning and Ferrari blame the track… hmmm…
Bio
28th July 2019, 17:04
Since when Leclerc has become Ferrari? It’s just his own opinion After he lost a probable victory due to the mistake
Gabriel (@rethla)
29th July 2019, 11:54
Since 11 september 2018
JohnH (@johnrkh)
28th July 2019, 16:53
Leclerc made a mistake so did several other very good drivers. Verstappen won fair and square that’s it.
Nacho Nachev (@nnachev)
28th July 2019, 17:00
So obviously LEC is one of these spoiled drivers that want forgiving circuits and predicable victories. I’ll become no fan of him.
Awesome race!
Neil (@neilosjames)
28th July 2019, 17:25
That run-off was perfect today. Properly punished errors, even a single wheel off the road cost a bit of time.
Guilherme
28th July 2019, 17:36
+1
CarWars (@maxv)
28th July 2019, 17:51
@neilosjames well said, very enjoyable run off.
Islander
28th July 2019, 18:33
… should be installed at every track!
KaIIe (@kaiie)
28th July 2019, 17:45
Nah, that’s just the kind of thing that we need: mistakes to be penalised. Compare the last few corners in the wet to T1 in the dry: going off the track leads to a crash (unless you’re Kimi Räikkönen) versus nothing of consequence happens.
Also, can’t see how slipping from the track at almost walking speed could be called dangerous with these cars.
Phylyp (@phylyp)
28th July 2019, 17:50
A new game for F1 drivers: “The runoff is lava”
Dee (@bulsie)
28th July 2019, 18:03
On the other hand, I hope other tracks do something similar to punish drivers who can’t stay on the track.
bob (@riptide)
28th July 2019, 19:34
Got to love people saying mistakes should be punished in relation to Leclerc’s off; then going on the praise Max and no mention that he didn’t get punished for his off.
Gabriel (@rethla)
29th July 2019, 11:46
@riptide
The corner was no different for Max and i havnt seen a single Max fan complaining about the track when he crashes so love it all you want, i love it to.
bob (@riptide)
29th July 2019, 12:49
Well done for missing the point. Max went off (twice) at different corners and was not punished. Ham went off elsewhere and was not punished Those corners didn’t punish an off. So make up your mind, all corners punish an off, or they don’t?
Velocityboy (@velocityboy)
28th July 2019, 20:26
That run-off was my favorite section of track today. Everyone says they want the driver to be penalized for going off track and that’s exactly what that corner did. I loved it.
I think this highlights why in the past Ferrari would not put a young driver in their cars.
Pjotr (@pietkoster)
29th July 2019, 22:25
True statement. The track did what is supposed to do. Some were lucky and others not. Stop weeping, next race new opportunities.
NewVerstappenFan (@jureo)
28th July 2019, 22:32
You mean a mix of slippery stuff and gravel? Sounds like what fans were asking for. I loved it, many a driver was cought in it today. Made racing look dramatic and dangerous.
JHam
29th July 2019, 0:43
When you leave track limits, you should not expect a racing surface.
If you crash out with zero, or minimal, injuries then the run off, gravel & barrier did their job as designed.
I prefer it when mistakes are punished by the track, not the stewards.
neil
29th July 2019, 2:31
i like leclerc but its his job to know the track, same with hulkenberg. same with ricciardo in australia this year. know every inch of he track and the grounds/run-offs/grass/gravel/tarmac. drive accordingly and stop whinning! its the same for everyone.
Scary Terry (@hatebreeder)
29th July 2019, 5:25
Controversial opinion here, but I do agree with him. In a sport defined by standard behavior, this was an unexpected addition. All tracks are designed with runoffs that are either tarmac or gravel trap. This isn’t something that is ever put on a track, and while it is entertaining, it does show that no driver was expecting that. This is the same as sprinklers on the track that randomly go off which Bernie suggested. If a slippery piece of runoff that drives people into a wall is acceptable, then so are sprinklers that randomly go off.
Gabriel (@rethla)
29th July 2019, 11:50
@hatebreeder
As long as the sprinkler is natural then yes, this was an awesome race and it really highlighted the best drivers.
JMDan (@danmar)
30th July 2019, 13:14
Typical modern-day crybaby.