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Charles Leclerc crashed into the wall before the sprint race formation lap
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Multiple drivers were worried about poor visibility due to torrential rain in Miami
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The Ferrari star missed out on the chance to score up to eight valuable points
Charles Leclerc
crashed out of the Miami GP sprint race before the formation lap and will not take part in the rest of the event.
The Ferrari star smashed into the wall on the long straight in the mid-section of the lap.
Subsequently, the formation lap did get underway behind a safety car but the drivers struggled, with plenty of spray.
Max Verstappen
went straight at turn 17 but managed to avoid hitting the wall. However, a red flag was called and the session was delayed amid torrential rain and drivers worrying about poor visibility.
Leclerc had suffered severe damage to the right side of his car.
‘Not the way we wanted to start the day,’ Ferrari posted on social media.
‘A soaking track has caught Charles Leclerc out on his way to the grid, and (he) slides into the wall.’
Leclerc had not been not taking a corner but drifted over to the right side of the track before thudding into the wall and continuing for a while before coming to a halt.
He was not near any other vehicles at the time of his accident. However, Oscar Piastri’s manager manager Mark Webber feared that his charge may have suffered some damage.
Leclerc had qualified in sixth place for the Sprint Race, one place ahead of his team-mate Lewis Hamilton.
Eight World Championship points are awarded to the winner of the Sprint Race, down to one for finishing eighth, and every point matters in the Constructors’ Standings.
‘Extraordinarily even the drivers at the front of the pack were complaining about the visibility,’ Martin Brundle explained on Sky Sports.
“’hese big, fat tyres lift the water into the sky at high speed. Can you imagine that for the drivers at the back?
‘In the 1980s and 1990s we would not have even thought about not racing in this but we had a lot of big crashes.’
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