Leclerc causes early red flag in bizarre circumstances

A shock red flag was flown after almost 10 minutes of running in the only practice session of the Miami Grand Prix, after Charles Leclerc spun.

The Monegasque spun on the exit of Turn 16 but managed to avoid the tyre barrier.

Leclerc did well to keep his SF24 running but due to the tight nature of that part of the circuit, failed to perform a three-point turn.

The Ferrari driver was forced to stop whilst trying to perform the manoeuvre to face the correct direction, due to his clutch overheating. This resulted in Leclerc being unable to engage reverse.

It comes as a seismic blow for the 26-year-old, who will now enter sprint qualifying at the Miami International Autodrome with just one hot-lap to his name.

The red flag also reduced the amount of available running for the remainder of the grid. In total, six minutes was lost as a result of the early red flag.