Leclerc declares himself fully fit for Madrid Grand Prix after Monza accident
Charles Leclerc says he is 100% fit to race at the Madrid Grand Prix and has cleared the air with Lewis Hamilton over their Monza clash.
- 100%
- Turn 2
- Q3
- July
What Happened
Charles Leclerc is ready to get back behind the wheel at the Madrid Grand Prix after his accident at Monza. The Monegasque driver underwent several medical checks earlier this week and confirmed on Thursday that he is fully fit to race. He said the impact was big and that he had treatment on his neck in the first couple of days, but that everything checked out and he is ready for the weekend.
“I'm 100% fine. It was a big impact and I had some treatment on my neck in the first couple of days, but I'm feeling good now. I did quite a lot of checks and everything was fine, so I'm ready for the weekend.”
“After reviewing the images, it was clear that I went too far in Turn 2 and I told Lewis that. We spoke openly about what happened and it has not affected the very good relationship we have. We are both extremely motivated and want to do the best possible job for the team. Sometimes you can go a step too far, which I did, and I'll learn from that to make sure it doesn't happen again.”
Leclerc samples the Madring circuit during Ferrari's filming day, though he says the limited running and dusty track conditions offered little meaningful preparation for this weekend.
Leclerc undergoes several medical checks after his accident at Monza.
Leclerc confirms he is fully fit to race at the Madrid Grand Prix.
Ferrari publishes Leclerc's pre-weekend media interview from Madrid.
“It looks like a very challenging track and exactly the kind of circuit I enjoy as a driver. I expect overtaking opportunities to be quite limited on Sunday, so qualifying is likely to be particularly important. Our priority will be to maximise practice so that we arrive in Q3 with the right car and can put together a strong lap. I'm really looking forward to it.”
Leclerc already sampled the Madring circuit during Ferrari's filming day in July, but the limited running and dusty conditions gave him little meaningful preparation for the weekend. He expects overtaking to be limited in Sunday's race, making qualifying particularly important, and said Ferrari's priority will be to maximise practice so that they arrive in Q3 with the right car and can put together a strong lap. He added that he is really looking forward to the weekend.
Previously from Ferrari N.V.
Ferrari heads to Madrid for Formula 1's first Spanish Grand Prix at the Madring, a new 5.416-kilometre circuit built around Madrid's IFEMA exhibition district. At the previous round, the Italian Grand Prix at Monza, Leclerc qualified fourth and Hamilton fifth for Ferrari.
- Ferrari heads to Madring as Spanish Grand Prix moves to a new Madrid circuit
- Ferrari's Leclerc fourth, Hamilton fifth in Italian GP qualifying at Monza
Background drawn from MotorClaw's earlier coverage of Ferrari N.V.'s official releases.
Why this matters
Ferrari's Madrid weekend depends on its lead driver being fit: Leclerc had treatment on his neck after a big impact at Monza and says all his medical checks came back fine. He expects qualifying to decide the race because overtaking may be limited, and he and Hamilton say their Monza incident has not damaged their relationship or the team's motivation.
Terms in This Story
- Madring
- The Madrid circuit hosting this weekend's Spanish Grand Prix.
- Qualifying
- The session that sets the starting order for a Grand Prix, with the fastest laps deciding grid positions.
- Q3
- The final and fastest stage of qualifying, contested by the quickest cars.
Summarised from the linked release; details can be imperfect — always verify against the original source.