All already over
The dream was a replay of the memorable victories of 2019 and 2024, but for Charles Leclerc, Sunday at Monza was a (brief) total disaster. Let’s start from the end: at the conclusion of the second lap, the Monegasque Ferrari driver completely lost control of his SF-26 while in full battle with Oscar Piastri.
Read more Magny-Cours 2026, Superpole Race: 25th seal of Bulega. Montella on the podium
The red #16 pendulumed, clipping the green paint just outside the white line (where there was a drainage channel that probably caused the loss of control), and then disintegrated against the outer protection barriers at the Parabolica. A tremendous crash that fortunately did not have serious consequences for Leclerc’s body: the Monegasque exited the car on his own, albeit slowly and visibly shaken by the impact. Then Leclerc sat for several minutes at the stewards’ post, alert but in pain and clearly emotionally affected by what happened. Naturally, the driver was then taken to the circuit medical center for the usual checks.
#Leclerc 2 times out of 2 tried to open too early at the Parabolica losing the rear, the second time he opened early, with less speed in the corner but more on exit, he even put the wheels on the green and goodbye #ItalianGP pic.twitter.com/wrO6kzCow5
— Federico Albano (@Fred__18) September 6, 2026
Two nightmare laps
In just over two laps, however, Leclerc was negatively involved in several incidents: the Ferrari driver first pushed his teammate Lewis Hamilton into the gravel in the hectic start phases, triggering the furious radio reaction of the seven-time world champion, and then lost two positions one after the other to Pierre Gasly and Max Verstappen. A performance collapse that, looking at the overtaking dynamics, seems to be linked to some problem in managing the electric battery on the car of the native of the Principality.
Certainly, this is a Sunday to completely forget for Leclerc, whose crash also closely resembled a similar accident he had on this same track six years ago, at the 2020 Italian Grand Prix. Today, as then, the most important thing is that the 1997-born driver is fine, but certainly there will be much to discuss regarding all the problems Leclerc found himself in within so few kilometers of the race. Certainly not the afternoon the Monza fans dreamed of.
