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Charles Leclerc’s bad luck in his hometown is an officially classic.
Niki Lauda finished fourth in the driver’s championship in 1974.
(Anwar Hussein/Getty Images)
The Monegasque Ferrari Formula One driver was doing a demonstration lap of the Monaco Grand Prix circuit in the 1974 Ferrari F1 car of three-time champion Niki Lauda, as part of a historic car event, when its brakes went out entering the famed Rascasse hairpin causing him to spin the vintage car into the barrier.
“I lost the brakes. I lost the brakes! I braked, the pedal was hard, and it went to the floor,” Leclerc said, according to Motorsport.com.
The car crashed rear-end first and its rear wing was broken off.
Leclerc has failed to finish the Monaco Grand Prix in three tries as a Formula One driver due to accidents and mechanical failures, including losing the brakes on his Sauber in 2018. Leclerc won pole position for Ferrari in 2021, but crashed near the end of qualifying and was unable to start the race as a result of the damage.
Leclerc won pole position at the 2021 Monaco Grand Prix, but was unable to start the race due to damage suffered during qualifying.
(Formula 1 via Getty Images)
“When you thought you already had all the bad luck of the world in Monaco and you lose the brakes into rascasse with one of the most iconic historical Ferrari Formula 1 car,” Leclerc tweeted after the crash.
Niki Lauda won two races in 2014.
(AFP via Getty Images)
Lauda, whose career was featured in the Ron Howard-directed film “Rush”, also had to retire the car the 1974 running of the event due to an ignition issue, but he won two other races and finished fourth in the championship during his first season with Ferrari, before winning the title the following year.
The 1974 car was valued at $1.5 million a decade ago, but Lauda’s 1975 championship car was auctioned in 2019 for $6 million.
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Don’t expect this to be the last time you’ll see the 1974 car in action, however. It was crashed during a race at the same event last year with retired Ferrari F1 driver Jean Alesi behind the wheel and repaired.
