WATCH: Charles Leclerc & Kimi Raikkonen Narrowly Avoid Crashing Out at French GP

The seventh round of the 2021 championship is done and dusted. It was a race full of action and saw Red Bull’s Max Verstappen steal the win for his rival, Lewis Hamilton.

Furthermore, all twenty drivers on the grid saw the chequered flag. However, that could have changed if Kimi Raikkonen had crashed with Charles Leclerc on Lap 50 of the race. But, due to their quick reaction time, they avoided a huge crash, only just touching wheel-to-wheel.

Leclerc crossed the line in sixteenth place on the grid, while The Iceman came seventeenth. Both came home empty-handed but glad they didn’t crash out and retire from the race completely.

Wheel-to-wheel action by Kimi Raikkonen nearly caused a crash with Charles Leclerc

The 41-year-old driver was chasing down the Ferrari driver in the closing laps of the race. However, it seemed like Raikkonen pushed too hard and was about to take Leclerc out of the race along with himself.

Careful Kimi!

Raikkonen bumps wheels with Charles Leclerc on Lap 50 of Sunday’s race #FrenchGP #F1 pic.twitter.com/IZp2pToXs3

— Formula 1 (@F1) June 20, 2021

However, both Leclerc and Raikkonen were alert and avoided each other. The left tire of Raikkonen bumped into Leclerc’s. It only saw Raikkonen going wide, missing out on the opportunity of gaining a place in the race.

Watch Story: When F1 Drivers Had a Blast on Top Gear Featuring Hamilton, Vettel & Ricciardo

How did the Monégasque driver do at Paul Ricard?

The 23-year-old has his share of good weekends, this season, seeing that he achieved pole in Monaco and in Baku. However, at Le Castellet, Leclerc managed to get his Ferrari in the third round of qualifying, but could only be the seventh fastest on the grid.

From there onwards, it all went downhill for the Ferrari driver, as he fell from seventh to sixteenth on the grid. The weekend saw him leave empty-handed, as he didn’t have points finish.

His teammate, Carlos Sainz  didn’t have a good race either as he came eleventh, resulting in zero points being scored by the Scuderia.

However, Leclerc is optimistic and is looking to bounce back at Austria next week for the eighth round of the season. He and Sainz will be hoping that they can score some points at the Red Bull Ring and regain the position lost to McLaren in the Constructors’ Championship.

Read More: Charles Leclerc Left Feeling ‘Emotional’ After Brother Arthur’s Maiden Win as Ferrari Graduate

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