zzdcar
Home
/
Reviews
/
Racing
/
Charles Leclerc's Post-Race Meltdown Is Still Hard To Watch
Charles Leclerc's Post-Race Meltdown Is Still Hard To Watch-September 2024
2024-02-19 EST 22:11:01

Image for article titled Charles Leclerc's Post-Race Meltdown Is Still Hard To Watch

Lewis Hamilton won a title on Sunday after taking home the Turkish Grand Prix. Charles Leclerc was running second until he locked a wheel on the antepenultimate turn and let two cars past. I still am not quite over Leclerc’s subsequent meltdown on the radio.

You can find video of the mistake , which I would embed here except Formula One doesn’t let its YouTube videos play on other websites.

More dramatic than the mistake, though, was Leclerc’s reaction. “You did a good job. Really good job,” someone calmly tells Leclerc after he’s crossed the line. He disagrees.

The combination of shame, humiliation, and anger in the beginning eventually gives way to through-gritted-teeth congratulations of Vettel, which you get the sense was the real humiliation. Leclerc knows he should have been on that podium; instead it was his teammate, whose ass Leclerc has spent the season kicking. Leclerc is currently fifth in the drivers’ standings; Vettel is 13th.

I remember seeing this clip Sunday and recoiling a bit at the Leclerc’s vulnerability and passion, so late in the season and with the championship race over; when I saw some fresh comments from Vettel about Thursday on , I watched it again and it had the same effect. Here’s what Vettel said:

“Probably irrelevant, to be honest. Turkey is a special place for me because it’s where everything started. It’s probably not where everything ends but still I think, looking back to many many years ago, I think having Charles as a team mate, I often see myself in him as well.

“He’s a lot younger, he’s very quick and I think the fact that - I haven’t had the chance to talk to him yet – but I will tell him later that being on the podium or not actually is a bit irrelevant for him because he has so many years ahead of him and so many podiums to come, which I’m sure of.

That the podium is irrelevant is easy to say when you are on it; Leclerc’s first chance to make up for everything won’t come until Bahrain on November 29.

Comments
Welcome to zzdcar comments! Please keep conversations courteous and on-topic. To fosterproductive and respectful conversations, you may see comments from our Community Managers.
Sign up to post
Sort by
Show More Comments
Racing
Drop The Artisanal Mayonnaise And Get Excited: Formula E Is Coming To Brooklyn
Drop The Artisanal Mayonnaise And Get Excited: Formula E Is Coming To Brooklyn
only chooses city circuits to host its races, and it will finally hold a race in New York City next summer, something Formula One . And it’s in the hip neighborhood full of all the good and beautiful young hoverboard people with social media jobs, Brooklyn! In April, Formula E...
Sep 7, 2026
We're Playing NASCAR Heat Evolution With Champion Brad Keselowski Right Now
We're Playing NASCAR Heat Evolution With Champion Brad Keselowski Right Now
Brad Keselowski, who you may remember for giving , is here in the office to play NASCAR Heat Evolution for Xbox One. We have one controller. We have no beer. I love me some circle-track racing, so I’m going to figure out if Brad does too, or if he’s just...
Sep 7, 2026
The Alleged CIA Agent Kurt Busch Dated And Reportedly Abused Now Allegedly Stole From Charity
The Alleged CIA Agent Kurt Busch Dated And Reportedly Abused Now Allegedly Stole From Charity
The bizarre saga of NASCAR driver Kurt Busch and Patricia Driscoll has become even more perplexing. Kurt Busch was suspended from NASCAR in February of 2015 following accusations from his ex-girlfriend, Patricia Driscoll, that he had strangled her and smashed her head into a wall multiple times. Busch wasn’t charged...
Sep 7, 2026
Why I'm Okay With Truex Winning In NASCAR With An Illegal Car (This Time)
Why I'm Okay With Truex Winning In NASCAR With An Illegal Car (This Time)
NASCAR fans are a bit outraged at the fact that the series swore they’d on Chase for the Sprint Cup competitors who failed the post-race technical inspection, and Chicagoland Speedway winner Martin Truex Jr.’s car failed after that anyway. But it’s by such a minuscule amount that NASCAR may not...
Sep 7, 2026
Celebrate 9/19 By Watching The Porsche 919's Fastest Ever Lap Of Le Mans
Celebrate 9/19 By Watching The Porsche 919's Fastest Ever Lap Of Le Mans
Happy 9/19, Jalopnik! If you love Porsches, you may perk up at the sound of several days in September, thanks to Porsche’s 9-themed model names. There’s 9/17! 9/18! And even the humble 9/14! Today, however, belongs to Porsche’s latest Le Mans prototype, which set the qualifying lap record at Le...
Sep 7, 2026
NASCAR Hall Of Fame Trashed As Charlotte Protests Turn Violent [Updated]
NASCAR Hall Of Fame Trashed As Charlotte Protests Turn Violent [Updated]
in downtown Charlotte, North Carolina over the death of Keith Lamont Scott at the hands of police turned violent this evening, with several businesses including the NASCAR Hall of Fame reportedly being looted in the process. Scott was a father of seven who was shot and killed in a confrontation...
Sep 7, 2026
Copyright 2023-2026 - www.zzdcar.com All Rights Reserved