Aston Martin driver offers to buy Charles Leclerc a beer after first-lap incident at 2023 F1 Australian GP 

Lance Stroll is willing to get a beer for Charles Leclerc after their first-lap incident at the 2023 Australian GP.

At the start of the race, Stroll accidentally bumped into Leclerc at turn three, which sent the Ferrari into the gravel trap and out of the race. Although the Monagasque could have blamed Stroll, he didn't, as he understood how chaotic the first lap of races can be.

Speaking to the media, Charles Leclerc explained the chain of events that caused the collision:

"Turn 1 I took it easy, I didn’t want to take any risk. Turn 3 I honestly wasn’t really planning to do any overtakes there, but Lance had to brake quite early because Fernando (Alonso) had to because of the cars in front, so I saw there was a gap on the outside. I went for it, unfortunately Fernando had to slow even more down the car, and Lance found himself between Fernando and myself, and we had contact."

Leclerc concluded by clarifying that he does not blame Lance Stroll and is simply putting it down to a racing incident:

"I’m not blaming it on Lance, I think it’s a racing incident but just very frustrating because the end result is I’m going home with basically 0 points."

After learning what Leclerc had to say about the collision, Stroll appreciated the gesture and promised to buy him a beer. He explained how he was squeezed between Alonso and the Ferrari driver, so he could not do anything to avoid the collision. The Canadian said:

"Ah, that was nice of him, I’ll buy him a beer tonight. Honestly it was a racing incident, I think. This track is narrow, going into Turn 3 I was braking in the middle of him and Fernando, I didn’t move and then I kind of got sandwiched and then we made contact. It was unfortunate for him and lucky for me that I didn’t pick up damage."

---

Charles Leclerc left frustrated after early exit from 2023 F1 Australian GP

Charles Leclerc collided with Lance Stroll and had to retire early at the 2023 Australian GP. The Monagasque was quite frustrated with his luck, as no one was at fault for the incident - neither he nor Stroll or even the teams.

After returning to the paddock, he told Motorsport Italy:

"I don't usually take long breaks when things go wrong. We have to keep working to improve the car, obviously, making the most of the time we have available. Carlos is showing a good pace today, we hope to do better and better.

"At the moment I don't have long-term goals for this season. We have to think about finishing race by race without taking penalties and having problems. These are the priorities at this historic moment."

Charles Leclerc will have some time to regroup, as the next race in Azerbaijan is a few weeks away.