In-Car Audio Captures F1 Driver Charles LeClerc’s Reaction to Scary Crash at Monza
“It was a big crash. F--!”
Usually when you see a headline about a frightening crash in auto racing, you expect to see a car go spinning like a top or get tossed like a leaf in the wind. Ferrari F1 driver Charles LeClerc’s wreck at the Italian Grand Prix on Sunday was scary for an entirely different reason.
LeClerc lost control coming around a curve and just collided head-first with the outside barrier. It looked absolutely brutal. Incredibly, LeClerc was unharmed in the collision. He wasn’t just able to walk away from the crash—he actually jogged off.
Equally impressive was LeClerc’s subdued reaction to his death-defying moment. The video of the crash Formula 1 shared on YouTube included audio of his communications with his race team. LeClerc could be heard saying, “That was a big crash. F---!”
The censored and edited version of the audio doesn’t paint the full picture, though. Another YouTube clip features more audio of LeClerc’s radio in the moments surrounding the crash. It gives a better sense of just how sudden the impact was, and how calm everyone remained after the crash.
“Are you OK?” a member of his crew asked, with only the slightest bit of concern.
The extended audio also includes a bunch more cursing from LeClerc, but you get the sense that it’s because he’s upset about having crashed out of the race, not because he’s in pain. At one point, LeClerc even apologized for crashing.
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