Charles Leclerc was forced to retire from the Sao Paulo Grand Prix as he lost out in the battle for second place following contact with Kimi Antonelli, initiated by McLaren’s Oscar Piastri.
There was carnage on the Safety Car restart – as leader Lando Norris darted away, Antonelli’s slower reaction time left him at the mercy of Piastri, who opted to take the inside line heading down to Turn 1.
Two turned into three as Leclerc joined in the pursuit of P2 and at the corner, Piastri locked up, tagging the Mercedes to start a domino effect with Antonelli then hitting Leclerc’s Ferrari.
With extensive damage, including a missing front wing and missing wheel, the Monegasque had no option but to pull up at the side of the track and retire from the race, prompting a Virtual Safety Car.
Piastri improved to second place, but was hit with a 10-second time penalty for the incident after an investigation by the Stewards deemed him responsible for causing a collision.
Click go on the video player above to watch how Leclerc’s unfortunate retirement came about.
