© Steve Etherington for Mercedes-Benz Grand Prix Ltd.
Mercedes team boss Toto Wolff says he doesn’t believe Charles Leclerc’s crash at the Monaco Grand Prix Qualifying was done on purpose.
In the final seconds of the Monaco Grand Prix Qualifying, Charles Leclerc crashed into the barrier which red flagged the session and ruined most drivers’ final Q3 run.
Because the Monégasque driver was in P1 at the time, some people were questioning afterwards if he did it on purpose, to make sure that he would be on pole in the race.
It isn’t the first time a driver was be accused of doing such a thing in Monaco. In 2014 Michael Schumacher was accused of ‘parking his car’ at La Rascasse to put a stop to qualifying and keep his pole position, while in 2016 Nico Rosberg made a ‘mistake’ at Mirabeau, which also stopped the session and guaranteed he would be on pole in the race.
However, Toto Wolff doesn’t believe Leclerc crashed on purpose.
“I think that like all the incidents we have seen in the past in Monaco, only the driver will ever know what exactly happened,” said the Austrian.
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“In that case, I doubt Charles would make himself detonate in the rail which could cause even more damage to his car and gearbox damage is possible.
“We think we probably wouldn’t have had [pole], but it is what it is.”
Ultimately Wolff believes that having Leclerc, a Monte Carlo native, on pole at the Monaco Grand Prix is a good thing.
“It is certainly a good story that Charles is on pole in Monaco. By any means, I don’t think Charles put it in the wall today because there is just too much at stake.
“I don’t think you put your car in the wall like this,” concluded Mercedes’ team boss.
