Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc crashed on the formation lap at the São Paulo Grand Prix, where he was due to start from second position on Sunday.
Leclerc was perfectly placed to attack Max Verstappen on the run down to Turn 1 after a strong qualifying performance Friday.
However, on the lap that precedes the start, the Ferrari driver spun off the track in the middle sector and hit the barriers.
Leclerc’s race radio suggested his car suffered a hydraulics failure.
“Hydraulics. Why the f— am I so unlucky!” Leclerc complained on the radio after the crash.
However, speaking to Sky Sports shortly after the incident, Leclerc said the crash was caused by a different issue.
“I don’t think it’s a hydraulic problem… I mean, I know what it is but I can’t go into too much detail,” Leclerc said. “There was an engine thing that made me lock the rear wheels and then I spun and hit the wall, so I couldn’t do anything.”
The Monaco native managed to get his car moving again but only to drive into an escape road, which meant there was no delay to the start of the race.
Because of Leclerc’s crash, Verstappen started the race with an empty grid slot next to him.
Verstappen, who clinched the championship at the Qatar Grand Prix at the start of October, led comfortably into Turn 1.
A crash between Alex Albon and Kevin Magnussen saw the race red flagged (and immediately halted) because the incident sprayed debris across the run-off area at the first corner.