Charles Leclerc’s F1 São Paulo GP ended in devastating fashion on lap 5 following a collision at turn 1. The Ferrari driver became collateral damage in an incident between Oscar Piastri and Kimi Antonelli. Leclerc’s suspension broke after contact, forcing an early retirement.
The incident unfolded as the race restarted after an earlier incident involving home hero, Gabriel Bortoleto. Piastri got a good launch from P4 and attempted an ambitious overtake on the inside, which ended in him hitting Antonelli who in turn hit Leclerc. Leclerc had briefly moved up to P2 ahead of Antonelli before disaster struck at the apex.
Lap 5 contact leaves Leclerc as collateral damage
Speaking after the incident, Leclerc shared his perspective on what happened that caused his São Paulo GP retirement. He watched the incident unfold after he got out of his Ferrari.
“I watched it from afar, from where I was sat in the grass looking at the big screen from far and yeah, I mean it’s a shame. Collateral damage of an incident between Oscar and Kimi where in my opinion actually Kimi was as much to blame as Oscar.“
Leclerc assessed the collision as a racing incident with fault on both sides. He viewed Piastri’s move as optimistic while Antonelli appeared unaware of the McLaren’s presence: “For me it’s a bit of a 50-50 incident, Oscar being optimistic, Kimi doing the corner like Oscar was never there and that means they collided and touched me.“
Mercedes F1 gains upper hand in Constructors battle after double DNF
Charles Leclerc’s F1 São Paulo GP DNF, along with his teammate’s, carries massive consequences for Ferrari’s championship battle. Ferrari ended the weekend as the only top team to fail to score points during the GP. Securing second place in the Constructors’ Championship now appears increasingly difficult to secure.
“So, very frustrating considering we are fighting for the second in the Constructors’ Championship and we are the only one that are not finishing the race today. So, it’s going to be very difficult to get that second now,” Leclerc stated.
The timing of Leclerc’s F1 São Paulo GP DNF couldn’t be worse for the Scuderia. When asked about the pain of losing potential podium points after consecutive strong weekends, Leclerc did not hide his disappointment: “Yeah, very frustrating, very frustrating but it’s the way it is and it’s the way that goes racing sometimes but it’s difficult to swallow.“
The incident undoes weeks of solid work from Ferrari. Mercedes now holds the upper hand in the battle for second place. With only three races remaining, Ferrari faces an uphill battle to recover.
Team’s weekend turnaround despite disappointment
Despite Leclerc’s devastating São Paulo GP outcome, some positives emerged from the weekend. Ferrari showed impressive adaptability after struggling on Friday at Interlagos. The team’s ability to turn the situation around demonstrated their technical strength.
“I think the reaction of the team to turn the situation around from Friday to yesterday and today, this has been a really good effort. But on the other hand, when you finish a weekend like this, I’m pretty sure everybody is very much down,” Leclerc stated.
Leclerc qualified P3 for Sunday’s F1 GP after the turnaround, putting Ferrari in a strong position. The pace looked promising for him and team before the lap 5 incident.
Looking ahead to the final three races
The final three races of 2025 will determine whether Ferrari can salvage second place. Leclerc acknowledged the challenge facing his team their São Paulo GP result. When asked about his expectations from the final three races Leclerc replied, “Well, I don’t know. Three weekends that need to be perfectly executed in order to get the second place in the constructor.“
Leclerc tempered expectations about Ferrari’s chances on the upcoming Vegas street circuit. Mercedes demonstrated dominant pace at Las Vegas previously: “Maybe in Las Vegas but Mercedes has been very strong in Las Vegas as well. And eventually, now they are the ones that have the upper hand for the Constructor so it’s going to be tricky,” he stated.
Leclerc’s São Paulo GP ended through no fault of his own, dealing a crushing blow to Ferrari’s championship ambitions. With Mercedes now holding the advantage and only three races remaining, Ferrari faces a monumental challenge to secure second place in the Constructors’ Championship.
