Charles Leclerc crashes on opening lap of Australian GP in disaster for Ferrari

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    Charles Leclerc crashed out of the Australian Grand Prix in an opening-lap disaster for Ferrari – having spun of the track and into the surrounding gravel.

    The Monegasque, who picked up one of his three race victories of the 2022 season in Melbourne, was left gutted having slipped behind team-mate Carlos Sainz in qualifying.

    The 25-year-old's disastrous start to the 2023 season continued having failed to finish in Bahrain and only managed a seventh-placed finish in Saudi Arabia last time out.

    READ MORE: George Russell's Mercedes in flames at Australian GP as Lewis Hamilton team-mate out

    Leclerc said over the team radio that he had been tagged by Lance Stroll, having been caught in a battle with Fernando Alonso in the opening stages.

    He sounded resigned to what would follow, with race bosses deeming it a racing incident with no punishments handed out as the race got back up and running.

    One fan said on social media: "Charles Leclerc is already out of the race… He became too desperate there, and caused the collision with Stroll."

    Is Charles Leclerc a future drivers' championship winner? Give us your thoughts in the comments section below.


    A second added: "I can’t believe I got into F1. I can’t believe I am alive at the same time as Charles Leclerc’s f***ing horrendous luck."

    A third posted: "Charles Leclerc though… he can’t catch a break."

    Elsewhere, Alex Albon's crash caused a red flag with George Russell later forced to withdraw as flames started to bellow from his engine.

    Having faces some issues in qualifying, Leclerc was positive that matters would be better on race day – which didn't turn out to be the case.

    He had said: "Tomorrow is the race, I think we have quite a good race car. I compromised quali pace a little bit for the race so let’s see how it goes.

    I don’t want to get into this [where he can qualify without problems] because I hadn’t been driving well in Q1 and Q2 and in Q3 you never know what is possible."

    READ NEXT:

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    • Oscar Piastri already suffered Australian Grand Prix heartbreak – at the age of 13

    • Bird tries 'sabotaging' Max Verstappen by strolling across Australian GP track

    • Ferrari

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