Brendon Hartley has been left frustrated after becoming a late retirement from the Monaco Formula 1 Grand Prix.
The New Zealander was the innocent victim in a shunt with Charles Leclerc when the Sauber driver suffered brake failure heading into the Nouvelle chicane in the closing stages.
Tucked up behind Hartley, the Monegasque driver made heavy contact with the Toro Rosso that saw both forced out of the race.
Hartley had started down the order after failing to escape the first phase of qualifying on Saturday, with an opening lap altercation saw him nursing a damaged car throughout the race.
“It was a tough race starting from 15th. I had a pretty good start, but I damaged my front wing on the first lap at Turn 5 which was annoying,” Hartley said.
“It was an uphill battle from there, the tyres quickly faded with lack of front downforce, but we held on and made a big effort to make the Ultrasofts last until the end.
Secure your spot today.
“We pitted really early to make an undercut which was a good strategy, and towards the end of the race I was catching Carlos (Sainz) for P10, but then I got hit from behind by a Sauber.
“Charles and I spoke afterwards and he said he lost the brakes, it’s pretty frustrating, but that’s Monaco.
“We were strong all weekend apart from Q1, where we didn’t get it all together.
“I was happy with how I was driving today but ultimately it wasn’t meant to be.”
Despite crashing out of the race with eight laps remaining, Hartley was classified as the last finisher in 19th, while team-mate Pierre Gasly came home seventh.
Discussion about this post