Why Leclerc's historics crash shouldn't put off F1 drivers tasting history

OPINION: For a demo run ahead of Monaco's Historique Grand Prix, Charles Leclerc was blessed with the opportunity to drive Niki Lauda's former Ferrari 312B3 - but a brake failure at Rascasse suggested Leclerc's Monaco hoodoo transcended contemporary F1. Although an awkward incident, Leclerc deserves credit for embracing F1's history

Matt Kew May 18, 2022, 10:23 AM

Upd: May 18, 2022, 11:15 AM

Formula 1 drivers live the dream that many of us once possessed and enjoy a privileged lifestyle. Professionally at least, it’s difficult to feel sorry for them. But not long after the rear wing of the ex-Niki Lauda Ferrari 312B3 crumpled against the Rascasse barrier last Sunday, perhaps Charles Leclerc was deserving of a little empathy.

When the current championship leader dropped the high-airbox machine from 1974 during a demonstration run at the Monaco Historique Grand Prix, it looked as though the back axle had locked when he downshifted in the braking zone. In other words, might a racer used to a semi-automatic change have fluffed his heel-and-toe and the H-pattern manual to trigger the spin?

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Author Matt Kew

Matt Kew is Autosport’s F1 Editor, a role he has held since March 2022 following stints covering Formula E, Extreme E and the British Touring Car Championship.

Matt joined Autosport in 2018 to work predominantly on the magazine, but his relentless quoting of Alan Partridge meant office colleagues soon thought he would be better-suited to increased field work.

Needless to say, Matt had the last laugh when he won the Motorsport UK Young Journalist of the Year Award in 2019.

His interest in motorsport was sparked by regular trips to watch ASCAR crash around Rockingham’s banked oval.

Matt read politics and philosophy at the University of Sheffield - receiving first-class honours for his dissertation assessing the lack of female participation in top-tier motor racing.

He covered a wide variety of national race and rally meetings for Autosport as a freelancer before joining full-time. His best efforts to argue the merits of historic racing are undone by a questionable taste in music and James Bond actors.