Formula 1
Leclerc surprised by “aggressive” Norris F1 Brazil GP clash
Charles Leclerc admits that he was surprised to be punted into a spin by an “aggressive” Lando Norris early in the Formula 1 Sao Paulo Grand Prix.
Adam Cooper
Published: Nov 17, 2022, 7:00 PM
Copy link
Share on Viber
The incident happened on the first flying lap after a safety car period triggered by a clash between Kevin Magnussen and Daniel Ricciardo just after the original start. Norris had passed Leclerc, who was on medium tyres, off the line.
At the safety car restart, Leclerc was trying to re-pass Norris on the outside of Turn 6 when he was tipped into a spin by the McLaren driver.
Leclerc struck the barrier with the front of his car and was obliged to pit for a new nose and begin a recovery drive.
Norris received a five-second penalty for the incident, plus two penalty points, and he later retired from the race with an electrical issue.
Leclerc eventually recovered to fourth, although he was left frustrated after Ferrari opted not to swap him with Carlos Sainz, costing valuable points in his battle with Sergio Perez for runner-up spot in the World Championship.
Leclerc conceded that Norris was not usually the type of driver to make contact.
“No of course,” he said when asked by Motorsport.com if he’d expect such a move from the Englishman.
“Obviously I know Lando is not this type of guy, but for some reason today he was very aggressive, and also yesterday the same with Carlos.
“I don’t really understand, but it’s like this. At the end I don’t expect him to let me pass, he didn’t, but today was too much, and he paid the price with the penalty, I guess.
"I thought I had left space, well I'm pretty sure I left space, so I think he lost the rear and then touched me. So it's a shame.”
Charles Leclerc, Ferrari F1-75, hits the barrier
Photo by: Andy Hone / Motorsport Images
Leclerc conceded that he hadn’t expected to be able to continue the race after hitting the barrier.
“I was very surprised, yes,” he said. “I think we were quite lucky, I don’t know how much damage the car had. It didn’t feel too bad, maybe steering a little bit to the right, but apart from that it was okay.
“And after that the pace was really good all in all. Especially considering the first lap before, it was the best we could do today.”
Leclerc believed that starting on mediums was the correct choice, although his incident meant that it didn’t play out was planned.
He added: “I think it was. Obviously we never really saw our strategy just because of the first lap shunt, and I think Carlos had a few problems maybe, I don’t know.
"Difficult to judge it, but I feel like it was the right thing to do.
“Mercedes is extremely quick. Today they were very strong, especially in the last stint, I think Carlos was with new tyres and they were with a bit older tyres, and they managed to keep the pace very strong.”
Leclerc admitted to some frustration about not being allowed to pass Sainz at the end, and he now heads into the Abu Dhabi on the same points as Perez.
"I mean, we had a discussion before the race for this situation. So I was just asking about that discussion. But overall, it's like this, we will be equal points with Checo in the last race.
“It's going to be a tight battle. I guess it will be up to me to do the job to try and fight with Checo.”
Read Also:
- McLaren reveals special F1 livery for Abu Dhabi season finale
- Alpine: Team game paid off in Brazil GP after driver “silliness” in F1 sprint
- Alonso: First Aston Martin F1 test an "important" opportunity
We want your opinion!
What would you like to see on Motorsport.com?
Take our 5 minute survey.
- The Motorsport.com Team
Read and post comments
Read also :
Share Or Save This Story
Copy link
Share on Viber
Previous article Alonso reveals Vettel F1 tribute helmet for Abu Dhabi GP
Next article How DJ legend Pete Tong’s world has crossed paths with F1’s spygate scandal
Top Comments
There are no comments at the moment. Would you like to write one?
View More & Comment
More from
Adam Cooper
RB: Tsunoda “mentally on a different level” in 2024
Formula 1
Formula 1
Japanese GP
RB: Tsunoda “mentally on a different level” in 2024
Andretti planning F2 and F3 entries to promote US talent to F1 team
Formula 1
Formula 1
Andretti planning F2 and F3 entries to promote US talent to F1 team
Andretti F1 team formally opens new Silverstone facility
Formula 1
Formula 1
Andretti F1 team formally opens new Silverstone facility
Latest news
Spy shots of 2027 NASCAR Ford Mustang testing at Charlotte, but what's different?
NASCAR Cup
NAS NASCAR Cup
Charlotte II
2 h
Spy shots of 2027 NASCAR Ford Mustang testing at Charlotte, but what's different?
Five key takeaways from F1's big African Grand Prix reveal in Rwanda
Formula 1
F1 Formula 1 3 h
Five key takeaways from F1's big African Grand Prix reveal in Rwanda
Niels Koolen makes switch to Abel Motorsports ahead of 2027 Indy NXT campaign
Indy NXT
IndL Indy NXT 4 h
Niels Koolen makes switch to Abel Motorsports ahead of 2027 Indy NXT campaign
GT World Challenge Portimao: All you need to know about season finale featuring Max Verstappen
GT World Challenge Europe Endurance
WCEE GT World Challenge Europe Endurance 5 h
GT World Challenge Portimao: All you need to know about season finale featuring Max Verstappen
Feature
Discover prime content
Subscribe and access Motorsport.com with your ad-blocker.
From Formula 1 to MotoGP we report straight from the paddock because we love our sport, just like you. In order to keep delivering our expert journalism, our website uses advertising. Still, we want to give you the opportunity to enjoy an ad-free and tracker-free website and to continue using your adblocker.
You have 2 options:
- Become a subscriber.
- Disable your adblocker.
Subscribe now Already subscribed? Sign in here
Already disabled your adblocker?
Reload page
Manage Alerts
Subscribe