Charles Leclerc Gives Encore Performance Of Iconic ‘I Am Stupid' Crash

Ferrari driver Charles Leclerc had a bad case of Déjà vu on Friday afternoon after he essentially relived one of the most infamous — and frankly, hilarious — crashes of his career.

Formula 1 is in Azerbaijan this weekend, and that means they're dealing with the Baku City Street Circuit, which has become a fan favorite track that can be incredibly difficult.

It's tough to nail the setup here because the circuit features the longest straight on the F1 calendar and pairs it with a Monaco-esque middle sector that is about as tight and twisty as they come that weaves through some of the city's historic sites.

That middle section — which comes after a bunch of 90-degree corners, can be really tricky, and one of the most difficult parts comes at the start of the circuit's iconic castle section.

Leclerc had a memorable crash here back in 2019, his first season with Ferrari.

While some crashes are memorable because of how scary they were or how much damage there was or how consequential they are to the outcome of a race, Leclerc's crash in Q2 of the 2019 Azerbaijan Grand Prix is best remembered for what he said on the radio immediately afterward.

Hey, I didn't give Ferrari permission to broadcast my internal monologue!

Unfortunately, during FP1 this weekend, while Leclerc made it past the castle, he had to relive that moment when he had a very similar crash at Turn 15, the last one before the long straight to the finish line.

That was the end of Leclerc's session, and while the team managed to get his car put back together for FP2, he had to return to the pits during the session to fix his car's steering, which obviously would have taken a beating in a crash like that.

No fuss, no muss though. That's what can happen if you push to the limits, and it didn't slow Leclerc down one bit. He topped the timesheet in the second practice session. 

Leclerc and Ferrari will be hoping to have a strong weekend and make it two wins in a row after the Monagasque driver took the checkered flag two weeks ago in the Italian Grand Prix.