Charles Leclerc's already miserable Azerbaijan Grand Prix weekend took another turn for the worse when severe weather forced him into an unexpected road trip home.
The Ferrari driver, who'd crashed during qualifying and limped to ninth place in Sunday's race, found himself stuck in Italy after his Monaco-bound flight was diverted due to a storm.
Instead of landing in Nice as planned, Leclerc and fellow F1 star Carlos Sainz were forced into touching down in Genoa.
The pair had to hire a van and drive themselves back to Monaco, turning what should have been a quick flight into a lengthy journey by road.
Charles Leclerc's already miserable Azerbaijan Grand Prix weekend took another turn for the worse when severe weather forced him into an unexpected road trip home
|The 27-year-old Monegasque driver shared the bizarre turn of events on Instagram, posting a video from inside their rental vehicle.
"So after a very difficult weekend in Baku, I thought it couldn't get any worse but..." Leclerc said, before panning the camera to show Sainz at the wheel.
When asked about their location, the Williams driver explained they were "in the middle of Italy" after their flight couldn't land in Nice.
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Carlos Sainz appeared delighted to be driving back the vehicle after his triumphant weekend
|"We were diverted for a storm," Sainz said. "So we landed in the middle of Italy, we rented a van, and we are now into Monaco."
The 31-year-old Spaniard couldn't resist making a cheeky promise about their journey time.
"A two-hour drive, and we will make it in one hour and a half," he joked, prompting a firm "No!" from Leclerc behind the camera.
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The video showed them driving through a tunnel as they made their way along Italian roads towards Monaco.
Leclerc was heard laughing throughout the clip, finding humour in their predicament despite his disappointing race weekend.
The impromptu road trip came after Max Verstappen's victory in Baku, which marked the end of Formula One's European season before the championship heads to Singapore on October 5.
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Charles' chauffeur... Carlos! 😂
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The travel nightmare capped off wildly different weekends for the former Ferrari teammates.
Leclerc endured his worst-ever finish at the Baku street circuit, struggling with power unit issues throughout the race after his qualifying crash left him starting tenth.
Meanwhile, Sainz was celebrating his first podium since joining Williams at the start of the season.
The third-place finish marked a special achievement - he became only the second driver after Alain Prost to score podiums with Williams, Ferrari and McLaren.
"It tastes even better than my first ever podium," Sainz said afterwards, praising his team for their progress despite a challenging year.
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